North Carolina: June 5 - July 12

North Carolina provides the opportunity to get out of the “ditch” as the Intracoastal Waterway is called, and explore destinations on the rivers, sounds, and particularly the Outer Banks. We were looking forward to this adventure, but first we needed to get our nagging engine problem fixed, so our first stop in North Carolina was Zimmerman’s boat yard in Southport. The yard guys there were sure the problem was rooted in a severe shaft misalignment, which didn’t really make sense to me, but we gave them the go ahead to fix that, which eventually resulted in a new shaft, moving the engine mounts, shaving down the stringers, new cutless bearing etc., etc., etc. This was going to take a while and the boat was going to be up “on the hard” out of the water, so we took almost 2 weeks off and rented a car and took a vacation from our vacation to go to Jayne’s brother’s mountain cabin in Blairsville, Georgia. We had a great time there in the cool mountain air and did a bunch of beautiful hikes. Bella was in dog heaven! 

Our stops in NC (Red = marina; Blue = anchorage or free dock; Star = high rating) Click for Interactive Map  

It's always a little nerve-wracking when the boat is lifted out of the water

Careful inspection of the running gear

Boat mechanics always amaze me with how they can work in such tight spaces

We took the opportunity to wash and wax BellaGatto

Look at that shine!

The ever changing view from the living room of the Blue Roof House

Scenes from our many hikes in North Georgia

When the boat was ready to splash again, we returned to Southport, full of enthusiasm that we would soon be back on the water and fully cured. Our hopes were soon dashed by the water test – all that work made absolutely no difference and our problem was unchanged. Now, the boat certainly had a bad alignment problem, and that was definitely fixed, but as far as solving our problem it was a waste of time and money. The yard guys now wanted to run some engine tests they probably should have done in the first place before hauling the boat. Those tests didn’t result in a real diagnosis, but did narrow the issue down to a fuel delivery problem. While they were busy scratching their heads at the yard, we had a nice visit from our friends Dave and Patty from Florida, who kept our spirits up and joined us on land-based adventures around the Cape Fear area.  Zimmerman's yard in Southport did not have the expertise in-house to go any farther for us, and the local Yanmar tech experts were booked out at least two weeks, so we decided to push on through to the sister Zimmerman's yard in Deale, Maryland where they supposedly have certified Yanmar techs in-house. This is nearly 500 miles north, but at least we will feel like we're making some forward progress. So, back on the move! 

 

We enjoyed some excellent fresh shrimp and crab cakes in a socially distant outdoor setting at the Provision Company

Patty made her world famous Jägerschnitzel and from scratch spaetzle after a beautiful afternoon cruise out the inlet and around Bald Head Island

Enjoying porch-tails with our lovely harbor hosts Robert and Kay

A beautiful setting sun and rising moon from our slip at Southport Marina

Scenes from Carolina Beach State Park with our visiting crew

On the morning of July 5, after 3 weeks, we tossed off our lines from Southport and headed up the Cape Fear River with a nice boost from the flood tide, transited Snows Cut, and passed Carolina Beach. As we neared Wrightsville Beach, we started to see lots and lots of boats sporting Trump flags…it turns out a “Trump Train” boat rally was getting ready to start and a giant flotilla was clogging the waterway right at the most congested part. We managed to pick our way through without running anyone down and proceeded to our stop for the night, Harbour Village Marina, just south of Surf City. It was not much of a stop, just a small marina that mostly exists to serve the condo complex where it was located, but it was quiet stop away from the hubbub. 

Passing by the Trump boat parade

Only transients here at Harbour Village Marina

The next day we were bound for Beaufort (BOW-fort), a major stopover for cruisers on the ICW. We stayed in Beaufort proper on our loop trip last year and enjoyed the museums, nightlife and shopping, but this year with Coronavirus still raging, we wanted to try someplace quieter and less crowded. We stopped just short of Beaufort at Morehead City and stayed at the town docks. Getting in the slip with one functioning engine in a stiff cross current was no fun at all, but the price was right and it was a good location, walking distance to a lot of places. We got a take-out dinner that night and had a really good breakfast the next morning (outside seating) before pushing on. 

When we hit the ICW is was just like a sheet of glass

I love the nesting Ospreys

Favor the Red side for sure!

How about that million dollar view 😬 derelict boats are a problem in every state. 

Scenes from Morehead City. Grumpy's for breakfast is a must!

Our slip at Morehead City Docks

We really wanted our next stop from here to be Ocracoke, on the Outer Banks, but the weather was not going to cooperate. The wide-open and shallow sounds we would have to traverse get quite nasty when the wind is up, and a low pressure system that would later become Tropical Storm Fay was settling in just offshore of Cape Hatteras. Plan B was to stay in the good old ICW and make for either Oriental or Bellhaven, NC. Oriental was close, really too short of a day, and Bellhaven was a really long day, and there was not much in between. That was when the great loop cruisers group on Facebook came to the rescue. Gypsy's Palace read our FB post from Morehead City and said “you have to get in touch with the crew from Lab Partners – they are the harbor hosts (former or wannabe loopers who serve as goodwill ambassadors for cruisers along the loop) for the area and they have a dock behind their house halfway between Oriental and Bellhaven.” So we got to meet Beth and Rip Tyler, and spent a beautiful quiet night on their isolated little creek…with electric even!

Luckily we dodged most of this

Quick stop at R E Mayo Seafood to pick up some fresh off the boat shrimp and flounder

Pulling into the Tyler's dock on Campbell Creel

Absolutely deluxe accomodations

The nicest folks ever 💙

We ended the day with a nice quiet dinner of flounder picatta

The next morning was another route decision point – we could still head to Ocracoke and the outer banks to get to Virginia or stick with the tried and true and much more protected ICW and head to Belhaven. As so often happens, the weather made the call. TS Fay was still blooming off of Cape Hatteras, and current wind speed there was almost 40 knots. Current wind speed at Belhaven was 12 knots. So Belhaven it is! It was a cloudy and rainy day, but a short 25 miles to the Belhaven city docks, a minimalist marina right in the downtown that is only $1 per foot per night. Kind of a tight spot to get into on one engine, but we made it. There are two real attractions in this small town (not counting the very nice lady from the chamber of commerce, Diana, who came down to welcome us). The first is the Ace hardware store. It’s not just any Ace hardware – it is HUGE and they have everything from clothes to marine supplies to seafood on sale there. The other is called Spoon River – a gourmet farm to table restaurant that would be right at home in the white tablecloth district of any big city. We made a reservation for that evening and Jayne (of course) had crabcakes and I had chicken and dumplings. I know chicken and dumplings doesn’t sound too gourmet, but this was perfectly seared chicken breast in a light creamy sherry sauce with perfectly done gnocchi standing in for the dumplings. Outstanding. It was the first time in seemingly forever that we dined out with inside seating like real non-pandemic grown ups.

We were the only boat for our two night stay.

Happy camper with the best Chicken and 'Dumplings' (gnocchi) ever!

This crab cake appetizer from Spoon River was sublime. The remoulade sauce was off the hook!

The next day TS Fay had finally fully formed and was on its northerly path. We decided to stay over a second day to let it get up ahead of us, and it was a gusty rainy gloomy day anyway, perfect for vegging out on board watching TV and reading books.

Weather the next morning was much improved and we headed out early to our next to the last North Carolina destination, 55 miles to Alligator River Marina. Our route took us up the Pungo River, then 22 miles through the Alligator-Pungo canal (a man-made land cut that was the very last segment of the Intracoastal Waterway to be completed) then almost due north up the Alligator River. All that way, we saw neither alligators nor pungos, but we did see the first bald eagles we had spotted since Georgia. We had the wind behind us on the Alligator River segment, a nice change from last year on the loop when we got our butts kicked here by a strong north wind and steep, choppy seas. Alligator River Marina is nothing to write home about, but it is in a very strategic location for both northbound and southbound travelers, being the only anything for quite a way in either direction. The only civilization is a gas station and convenience store that runs the marina. They have decent fried chicken though, and we got a bucket so as to not have to cook after our long day. When we stopped here before last year at the height of the looper migration, the place was packed. This time we were the only cruising boat here, and had the place to ourselves, which we celebrated by doing some laundry. Well after dark, we did get a boat neighbor. A seedy looking and filthy old sportfish came in and tied up behind us and plugged in the electric. This was an example of the “dock and dash” low-budget cruising technique – you come in well after the place is closed and the staff have gone home, pick a empty slip and make yourself at home, and then take off at first light before the staff gets in. And sure enough, they were gone when we got up in the morning.

Leaving Belhaven

The gloomy skies gave way to a beautiful day

The scenery on this stretch varies

Alligator River Marina

Watermen going out at first light

Today is another decision point day – we have to cross Ablemarle Sound , a sometimes quite nasty stretch of water, and then we have two routes to choose from. One route is to go to Elizabeth City and there enter the Dismal Swamp Canal which will eventually take you to the end of the ICW in Norfolk, Virginia, which would take two days. The other is to take the deeper and faster Virginia Cut route with a stop in Coinjock, NC and thence to Norfolk, a day shorter trip. We had “done the Dismal” last year and it was a highlight of our loop, but this time we decided to go to Coinjock Marina for our last stop in North Carolina. The main and seemingly only attraction in Coinjock is the marina restaurant, famous for their monster portions of prime rib. We had planned to get takeout from there, but there wasn’t much of a crowd, and we got a properly socially distant table indoors. We passed on the prime rib, but I had an excellent New York Strip and Jayne stuck with her regional favorite, crabcakes.

Coinjock Marina is a convenient stop right on the ICW

Tomorrow, we will hit mile zero on the Intracoastal Waterway, over 900 miles from where we started in Florida, and fuel up for the mighty Chesapeake!