Waiting out Hurricane Noel

Friday November 2
We tied up tightly at a marina watching the Weather Channel on our Satellite TV. Most of the coverage of Hurricane Noel mentioned winds gusting over 50 mph at Cape Lookout just east of us (we're at the X on the radar image to the right). We'd picked a good location to stay put for a day at the "Friendly City by the Sea"-- Swansboro's downtown was just one mile from our marina. We tied up Pathfinder with multiple spring lines and put out extra fenders with fender boards. Fortunately there wasn't any rain so we had a nice walk to the local post office and Walgreens to pick up a few supplies (and get some exercise).

We've been amazed at how busy we are each day-- it seems that there is always something to do! When we stop for the night we need to adjust the anchor or lines & fenders and wash the salt off the boat. Every few days we need to refuel and pumpout (yes, the "head" flushes into a holding tank that needs to be pumped out about every ten days). We spend the evenings cooking dinner or choosing a restaurant and then talking and planning the stops for the next few days, updating this blog and emailing/calling family and friends.

While the boat has had very few problems there are a few things that needed repair. After our walk downtown, Chris spent several hours adjusting the bilge pump switches, tightening some hatches, and preparing fender boards while Marianne walked downtown to pick up a few more supplies. The wind kept building and by 3pm it was so gusty that Chris told Marianne to wait downtown so he could pick her up in the marina's courtesy car (many marinas have a loaner car one can borrow for an hour). Only a few boats were moving on the ICW including this "pirate ship" we caught up with the next day. The boat was riding the storm well so we had the marina drop us at the Riverside Steakhouse, known for their sweet potato muffins. It was a great meal and the restaurant dropped us back at the marina for a windy night. The owner of the marina stopped by to give us his home number in case of problems-- but we made it through the night without a problem.

Saturday November 3

We started for Wrightsville Beach about 55 miles away at about 9:45 am but it turned out to be easy run thru Camp Lejuene (today they didn't close the ICW for live fire exercises!). We were excited to see porpoises swimming along with the boat-- the first we'd seen on the cruise. One of the challenges of the ICW can be passing under the bridges. We thought we would have a long delay when an upcoming bridge announced on the marine radio that they would be closed from 1-4pm for maintenance-- but we lucked out when, just as we arrived, the bridge needed to open for a test and we were one of the boats to slip through. Our only concern was that the storm delay had filled up the marinas and every one we called was full. Our cruising guides described a nice anchorage but it's always hard to know until you see it. In this case the guides were right-- what a delightful anchorage in a large cove surrounded by expensive homes and separated from the ocean and beach by a narrow barrier island. We settled in for a nice dinner on board.

Sunday November 4

At 7 am we took our dinghy ashore and tied up at the town dinghy dock then snapped this picture as we walked from the beach and ended up at St. Therese church fronting on the beach. After Mass we dinghied back to Pathfinder, up anchor and cruised past marshes, inlets, and endless new "McMansions" built along the ICW. As we crossed into South Carolina we remembered JFK's quote:

... all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean... We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea -- whether it is to sail or to watch it -- we are going back from whence we came." --JFK