When your friends need a hand getting their 70 foot motor yacht down the east…
Southbound ’17 – Travel Day 15: Belhaven, NC to Oriental, NC
FROM: The Captain
Conditions: Mostly sunny and chilly. Winds light and variable. Seas calm.
Distance traveled: 41.7 statute miles
Time underway: 3 hours 52 minutes
Average Speed: 11 mph
Max Speed: 22.1 mph
Fuel used: 43 gallons
When I stepped out onto the foredeck for our 7:44 am departure from beautiful Belhaven I was incredibly surprised to find a couple of square feet where there was a very thin coating of ice! What? In North Carolina in November? And it was allegedly 39 degrees. The math didn’t work but I know what I saw. Let’s keep motoring south. This leg of our journey was the first where the water was dead-calm, glassy-smooth, mirror-like and all of those metaphors for the entire run. It was simply spectacular as we pulled out of the marina for our relatively short day. And it was a good day for it to be so calm as parts of the run would be spent on some bigger bodies of water including the Neuse River which is notorious for being nasty in the wrong wind conditions.
We could have easily skipped Oriental and made the run to our next destination all in one day but we wanted to break the trip up for a couple of reasons… we are spending Thanksgiving and a couple of extra days in Beaufort and didn’t want to add any more days there. Plus – as an unplanned huge bonus – Captain Pauly’s wife, Beans, decided at the last minute to put Jasper’s best friend, Lady, in the car and make the thirteen and a half hour drive to join us for the next few days. Very exciting for everyone on-board.
Our choice for Oriental, NC was either to stay in town on a fixed dock or at the beautiful Grace Harbor Marina at River Dunes. It’s a drive, not a walk into town (they have courtesy cars if you need them) and it’s also a bit off the beaten ICW path. But not being on a schedule we decided to forgo town for the comfort of floating docks and resort amenities for the night. It’s a spectacular spot and a first-class, very well-run marina.
The real highlight of this stop was the reunion of Jasper and Lady (OK – the reunion of Capt Pauly & Admiral Beans was also special). Lady is Jasper’s first friend and the bond between the two of them is magical.
We are especially thankful for Jojo Beans and Lady for bringing a little home to the OLOH for Thanksgiving. We’re thrilled to be on board but it is tough to break from our cherished Thanksgiving tradition of our big family dinner at home. We are also thankful for our family and friends for their love and support throughout our lives. And, we are thankful to live in a country where we are free to roam from sea to shining sea! We give thanks to all those who make that possible. With our new crew on board, we celebrate Thanksgiving in Beaufort, NC and enjoy a couple of days off from cruising. We thank YOU for being a part of our journey. Have a happy, wonderful Thanksgiving!
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