Camp Lejeune, NC to Oriental, NC

Thursday, May 12
It was such a big help being after to stay an extra day at Camp Lejeune yesterday.The weather forecast had not been favorable to move on but we were out of excuses today and so we motored out of the marina.  On the way we were treated to osprey (vertical takeoff),  blackhawks, gunships, hovercraft, landing craft (amtracks), CH-53 helicopters, fighter jets, and aircraft carrier.

We had an invitation to use a dock in Swansboro owned by a couple who are looking for a Monk36.  They found out about us from either reading a forum or blog and emailed us with the invitation.  It was great to meet them later that afternoon.  They are hoping to have a liveaboard cruising lifestyle taking things and places as they come along.

Friday, May 13
An early morning departure to Beaufort, NC was uneventful.  We arrived about noon and found an anchorage in Taylor Creek and took the dinghy into town.  There is an historic area and along the shore is Front Street, with the usual tourist shops and some restaurants.  The cemetery is noteworthy, spooky, and old.  One of the tombs contains a soldier buried standing up so that he can salute the king.  We never did find it but I'm sure it's there if the literature says it is.

The Taylor Creek has a strong tide that turns the boats around every six hours or so.  We seemed to be in sync with the other boats even though we were anchored and the ones around us were on a mooring ball.

The wind picked up a bit later in the evening.

About 3 am I heard swishing of water in the tanks and then a soft plunk. "Rusty" I screamed.  "Something has happened."  We ran outside and found the nose of the next sailboat  (unoccupied) gently nudging the back of our boat. Our boat had swung over the sailboats anchor line and was stuck.  We were concerned that the anchor might be lodged around our prop so we did not dare try and motor away.  Visions of our prop and running gear being torn from the bottom of our boat were unsettling.  We put fenders in between our boats, called SeaTow, and prayed that the tide would not change course until we were free.

Our fender is the black thing at the bottom of the photo and the rest is the bow and anchor or the sailboat.

The SeaTow captain had seen our situation many times and calmly tied up to our boat.  He very slowly pulled us away from the sailboat and within seconds we were freed.  Rusty fortunately had placed fenders along our exposed side and was there to fend us away from the bow of the sailboat we turned away from it.  Otherwise we would have some serious gouges in our hull.

Sea Tow held on to us until we could pull up our anchor.  The anchor had held throughout and we surmise that we had laid out too much chain.  When the winds were light we swung tight but with the increased winds in the late evening and early morning our swing was too wide.

By the time the drama was over, it was 5 am, Rusty made some coffee, and swe said a prayer of thanks.  There was no damage to either boat.  The sailboat anchor chain had wedged at the dinghy and swim platform. If we had more chain let out, the bow of the sailboat with its pointing anchor would have done some serious damage to our boat.

Saturday, May 14
We looked at another anchorage in Beaufort as we really wanted to visit the Maratime Museum but it too was crowded.  We toyed with the idea of staying at a marina but it would have meant backtracking.  We were, for the moment, spent with Beaufort.

By noon we were nearing Oriental, NC and were hoping to spend a couple days there on the free city docks.  We found out that there were only two docks and they were occupied, so we headed under a 45' bridge to Greens Creek and dropped our anchor.

A walk around town in the afternoon preceded our dinner of gumbo and andouille sausage on the boat.  The water got choppy and we thought, "not another night last last".  We laid down more chain but this time we had no worries as we were the only boat around.   Rusty and I decided we needed to have a strategy for when to seek a marina.  Such as, "when the wind is above 15 MPH, or when there is lengthy thunderstorms."

Sunday, May 15
Rusty and I both woke up a few time that night to check our position.  We were fine.

At about 8 am we found out there was a major weather disturbance headed our way and we made arrangements to dock at the Whittaker Pointe Marina.  By the time we got there and settled in blue skies could be seen.  Nevertheless the winds are steady at 10 MPH and we are bouncing.  The marina has a courtesy car and great facilities so it is pleasant to be here.  We are having some work done at Deatons Yacht Service tomorrow and they are around the corner.