Week 3 ~ Belhaven to Harbor Village Marina, Hempstead, NC

Monday, 10/3/22 ~ Belhaven to River Dunes, NC

Today:      39 miles          5.5 hours           S/ M 175.0
Total:      339 miles      56 .3 hours

      Departed at 8 am, with the temps in low 60s, breezes light, sky 80% overcast. While underway, we called River Dunes to book a second day as the winds tomorrow will make docking a challenge at Morehead City. Moved Morehead City back a day, then called Harbor Village. They are open, but there are weeds in the water throughout the marina. They are closed Tues/Wednesday, but if we call when we are about an hour out, they will try to accommodate us at the fuel dock. With Pete’s work schedule being so busy Wednesday through Friday, we called Morehead and booked through a Saturday departure.

 
Dutch family doing the ICW in a Dutch boat (with no weather protection)

& House at the southern end of the creek

 

The fishing fleet is in

& a fisherman enjoying the beautiful weather

     When we entered Upper Spring Creek and Pemlico River, we were cruising nicely between 7.9- 8.2 mph as the water was draining from inland due to all the rains that accompanied Ian. The skies began to clear and the breezes were neglectable. 

     Once checked in, it was cool and a bit windy, but a great day for Pete to scrub the boat with the power washer & boy, did it need it! The birds apparently really like the berries this time of year as well as the white surfaces that supply a great contrast. Plus, we still had all the salt from when we departed on the cruise.

Tuesday, 10/3/22 ~ River Dunes ~ Day 2

MY FULL CIRCLE
came in just for a day

     It was raw, overcast & windy, with winds 15-25 from the NNE. It also drizzled on and off on Pete’s newly cleaned boat. He worked all day while I finished and posted the blog. I am still having problems with the blog not being sent to subscribers. Some research finally reviled that Google has disconnected the subscription buttons, which now need to be reinstalled and give the subscriber the right to authorize receipt of the subscription. I have to investigate additional third-party programs to install.

     River Dunes is having problems with the internet. We could not even log on this morning. Thankfully we have the MiFi and it worked.

 
A little fall color in the cabin on such a grey day

     Bailey asked to go for walk mid-afternoon. What she really wanted was the stick she found yesterday and left on the dock. She hasn’t been interested in sticks for a while. She has also been requesting to be in the cockpit more frequently. She gets a bit perturbed if we don’t join her up above. She really likes the warmth of the sun, seeing the sights and listening to birds and the few people who walk by, but unfortunately that wasn’t doable today.

     Today’s weather was perfect to make Tuscan Veg Bean Soup, slow cooked in the crock pot, and Red Lobster’s Cheesy Garlic Biscuits. A delicious, hearty and hot meal to chase away the rawness.

 WINDY's APP prediction of the winds

Wednesday, 10/5/22 ~ River Dunes To Morehead City, NC
Today: 33 miles 5.6 hours S/M 203.0
Total: 372 miles 70.6 hours

     We left at 8 am in the damp, cold and breezy but the sun came out rather quickly. Pete froze crossing Neuse. He finally gave in, and we put up the enclosure. What a difference and so much more comfortable!

 
     Once on Adams Creek, we were passed by one of the barges of ammonium phosphate that heads up to Belhaven. We also saw a number of dolphins.

 

 
Water, reflections and patterns

     We were traveling at 7.8 mph at the start of Adams Creek - 9.4 approaching the bridge and 8.2 exiting creek. The current finally turned as we were approaching Morehead City Yacht Harbor.

     Pete had a conference call that lasted 20 minutes. He prefers to be docked for these meeting knowing that computer access might have problems.

 

Our speed at the bridge, a boat that is being refurbished, 

the remains a fishing boat that sunk about 4 years ago and an island on the Newport River.
 

     Once exiting the creek there was a small barge in the center of the ICW. I tried, but he was not acknowledging 16, 9, or 68. I announced negative contact and stated my intentions to pass on his port. He was totally blissful.

 
     Once at Morehead City Marina, we fueled up and headed to our slip. Pete had to be creative to support the powerline. He “candy-stripped” a line around the electrical cord from the boat to the pedestal. We finally had lunch at 2.

Thursday, 10/5/22  ~ Morehead City ~ Day 2

     Pete was very busy with work, so I sat above with Bailey, out of Pete way, and actually read. . . for the first time in about 2 weeks. I finally finished my book! Busy for him / relaxing for me!

Friday, 10/6/22  ~Morehead City ~ Day 3

     Knowing Pete had another intense day, I took a walk. While enjoying the neighborhood, I had a very enjoyable talk with 2 wood workers in their shop. He was currently working on a beautiful thick piece of maple that was commissioned to be a table. The grain bill as beautiful and he filled in the voids with black epoxy. Once finished it will be beautiful. Both men were great conversationalists, and I would have liked to talk more, but I knew I was keeping them from working.

~ Sights around Morehead City ~ 

Inviting Porches ~ 

 

Mother Nature doing her thing ~

 

 

Fences ~

 

  

Flowers & Fruit ~

  

 

and Art ~  

     There are some interesting homes, but most are not elevated as in Belhaven. During Ian, they did have a 4-ish foot surge that covered the streets. Our dock hand said it was a bit lower than what Florence had brought a few years ago. Thankfully, there was no real damage.

  

     We had appointments for our flu shots at 4:15 and the car reserved at 4. Walgreens was rocked. We finally got our shots (both flu and the new Covid yearly) at 5:40. We grabbed a quick bite at BK because it was convenient. Then picked up stuff we needed at Walmart & Harris Teeter. It wasn’t until we were almost back that I realized we forgot the bread and bagels. Since we were past the 2-hour window for the car, we opted to put $10 in the tank and plan to use the scooter once in Southport for the bread.

     We were back in time to put the foods away and catch the TV shows, Sheldon and Ghosts.

Friday, 10/7/22  ~ Morehead City ~ Day 4

 

    Pete was up early to get the reports done before diving back into this complicated project. I forgot that the Covid shots give me a day or two of malaise, headache, and joint soreness. Needless to say. I didn’t feel like doing much. While Pete was swamped and on conference call with George all day, my highlight was 2 short walks, once for the dog and the other to check mail in the Harbor master’s office. Bailey’s meds didn’t make it here in time. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.


Saturday, 10/8/22 ~ Morehead City to Harbor Village Marina, Hempstead, NC
Today:       65 miles        8.3 hours              S/M 267.3
Total:       437 miles      78.9 hours

     We were up and out by 7:15. Temps were in the mid-60s and breezes light. We caught the incoming tide for 3 hours on Bogue Sound. Hit 9.4 mph at one point!

 

Sunrise as we departed the marina

     In Swansboro, there was a large 45-foot cabin cruiser aground and severely listing on her side. TowBoat was there, but they will need to wait for high tide.

     We once again had the current to Brown’s Inlet and cruised at 8.7 for most of the way. Of course, once on the other side we slowed to 6.7. Didn’t look as we would make Onslow Bridge, but the bridge tender waited for us and another boat.

     New River has been remarked, but Pete followed Bob423’s track. It made a 90 degree turn and we did stay in deep water. You can see all the shoaling. The dredging equipment is still positioned just south of New River. I guess it is more cost efficient to keep it there and transfer crew to it when needed.

     Making great time, we pulled into Harbor Village Marina at 4. The directions to stay tight to the red side of the entrance channel was right on. No less than 2.5 under the keel as we came in at dead low! You can see where the water rose during the storm. It was a foot over the seawall and into the parking lot. The grass that did get covered is slightly brown.
 

    Since the delivery of Bailey’s med didn’t make it to Morehead City, I called the pharmacy this morning They will overnight the prescription to Southport on Monday and we’ll have it Tuesday. We are staying in Southport Monday & Tuesday due to Pete’s workload. I’m looking forward to walking around town.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P

Week 2 ~ Waiting for Hurricane Ian at Belhaven Marina, NC

Week Two Belhaven ~

     Monday 9/26/22, I took a walk around town. Belhaven has a variety of homes especially near the water. It was quite noticeable that there are a lot of homes that have foundations raised due to previous storm surges.

Beautiful raised homes as well as a garage and storage ~

 

 

Decorations & view from outside ~ 

 

 

Main Street, Belhaven ~

 

    This is The Farm Boys. They have wonderful home made and farm fresh foods for breakfast and lunch.  a few months back they had a grease fire that was caught on surveillance video.  The fire suppression worked twice as it flared up, but ran out of chemicals the third time. The video died as the firemen broke down the front door.  They have been working hard to complete the renovations and open soon.  We wish them well.  Their hamburgers were famous!

 These are from around the Marina ~
 

    Once back I washed my hair and dried it in the cockpit. While there Gregg, hour harbormaster, stopped by and asked if I needed to do any grocery shopping- perfect timing as earlier I had completed my list! As he drove me over to Food Lion in his new golf cart, I asked about the raised homes. He said FEMA came in and raised 600 of them. I wonder why others did not take advantage of the free raising. With the coming storm, he had to turn off Dockwa to insure he had control of the size of the boats. This is a small marina with two bulkheads, one side deep and the other shallow. As a result, his phone has been very busy.

     The 3 boats that were due in today never showed. They apparently wound up elsewhere. I was able to pick up everything I had on my list and back by four. Of course, there were still stuff to put away.

Windy's prediction
For IAN

   Tuesday, 9/27/22, was another gorgeous day, I spent most of the day working on photos. I wanted to finish up and post the blog for last week, but downloading from the cloud has been challenging as the photos don’t always arrive in the specific folder as planned. Definitely user error, but I need to find out what the error is! I did manage to post all but the last two days. I hope to finish up and get the entire blog posted tomorrow. It is curious that I posted the summer recap on Sunday, but neither Pete or I received the notice that is normally generated. That means that others who subscribe to the blog haven’t received it either.
     Since Pete had the scooter out, he offered to go over to the pizza shop and pick up meatball Parmesan sandwiches. This way I can continue working and not have to worry about dinner.
     Dinner was delicious and clean up a breeze. I put in another hour or so but still have problems uploading. Since it is evening, I am sure others are using the bandwidth also.
     We had an unbelievable magnificent sunset tonight. 

     Wednesday, 9/28/22, was to be the last day that was absolutely gorgeous with temps and low 70s and gentle breezes. I took advantage and walk over to the post office and back. It was a great 2-mile walk.

You now me and flowers ! ~

 

 

 
     Once back, Pete was able to break from work and address the odor he found last night coming from the bilge. with We draped the hose into the cabin so he could scrub the bilge. He had been noticing an antifreeze-like odor for the past few days. I smelled it too, but couldn’t ID it. When we check the bilge, the blue-green algae bloom was once again present. We seem to get it after summering in the Chesapeake and start our trip south. We dumped about 12-15 Efferdent tablets into it last night and it really helped. What a difference!

     There is a lot of concern for huricaine Ian.  It has intensified into a Category 4  and taking aim at the Tampa Area. There are a lot of memes appearing on Facebook.  Here are a few ~

 

  

    Pete had a conference call at two and I wanted to be quiet while he was on the phone so I laid down in the front bunk. I didn’t realize I slept for 2 1/2 hours, soundly! So much for trying to get the blog finished today. There’s always tomorrow.

     Thursday, 9/29/22, Hurricane Ian slammed just south of the Tampa Bay area, Wednesday, as a high category four hurricane. Today revealed a lot of damage. Storm surge, rain and wind were substantial. Homes destroyed, marinas & major infrastructures destroyed, electricity out and the search for the missing has only just begun. The pictures are devastating. Our thoughts are with them.
     Ian continued across the Florida peninsula and the eye of Ian hit Fort Pierce as a tropical storm. Winds gusting up to 65-70 mph, with rain amounts close to 12 inches. Reports around the marina was that current doubled in intensity, but the marina survived well, with the exception of canvas on boats. Canvas shops will be very busy for a while. Right now Ian is reforming off of Daytona Beach. Current projections have it coming ashore again on Friday afternoon close to Charleston.
     Three more boats came in and as of now, the marina is full. The town dock only has three boats and room for 2-3 more. Hopefully, everyone is hunkered down in safe places. 

     While doing laundry, I touched base with Marilyn & John in Vero. As of last night they were doing well with only periodic outages, lots of rain and moderate winds. Kay and Frank, in Fleming Island, just experienced some strong winds and bands of heavy rain, but the storm has not yet passed them from its current position in the Atlantic. South Carolina coastline is currently under a hurricane watch as in intensifies in the Atlantic. It looks to be coming to shore between Savannah and Charleston. Here in Belhaven we are expecting winds with gusts up to 45 and some heavy rains on and off through Sunday. We are going to try to move to River Dunes Marina on Sunday and hopeful Morehead City on Monday. We are watching to see if we need to stay a day or two longer due to NE winds along the coastline.
     I met Pam and Tomas, SV C'EST SI BON, who are are now docked behind us. This is their first trip with their new-to-them Beneteau Oceanis 40. We planed on getting together for hors d'oeuvres later in the day. Unfortunately, I got slammed with a headache and we canceled. Hopefully, we will be able to get together before we leave Belhaven.

     Friday, 9/30/22 ~ We’ve been lucky. The heavy rains and winds of 25-30 with gusts 40+, arrived shortly after midnight. The boat rocked gently all night and day. The hardest part was walking Bailey. Unfortunately, we are aft to the wind so Pete, even with rain gear was drenched taking Bailey for her walk. She wasn’t happy about the rain either even though her raincoat works pretty well. Her head & legs were drenched. The drier sheet trick really works well! After rubbing her wet fur with the sheet, there is no “wet doggie” smell!

     Ian appears to have come ashore around McClellanville, NC slightly north of Charleston around 2 this afternoon.   On our first trip south in 2010, we met a server in Georgetown, who came from McClellanville and was there when a hurricane hit the same area.  Townsfolks headed to the second floor of the school to escape the huge surge that hit.  I hope then fared much better this time.

 
Ian's progression and where we are (just north of New Bern)

     By 5pm, the rains just about stopped, but water is up to the boardwalks and some of the marina yard is flooded. By 6:30, the water had risen another 6-8 inches. (Storm surge) We don’t know how high or when it will recede. Getting Bailey off the boat was very difficult as the catwalk is about 4.5 foot off the submerged dock. Oh yea . . . The electric went out about 7:30. We’re pretty remote so who knows how long it will be out OR we think that Gregg cut the power to the docks as a precaution. Other than that, we have been extremely fortunate! Ian came ashore near Georgetown SC about 200 miles south of here, so we got the outer bands of wind & rain.
     We figured we would start heading south on Sunday. I made reservations at River Dunes and Morehead City. I tried for reservations on Tuesday for Harbor Village, south of Mile Hammock. She answered with a panicky “hello?” They just lost power and are getting battered by Ian. They are closing. Needless to say, I told her I’ll call another time. Once confirmed, I will try to get a week at a marina in Southport to let thing sort out. Between flooding that is sure to occur south of Myrtle Beach that necessitates the closing the Socastee Swing Bridge, damage, debris, sunken vessels, and the shifting and currently incorrect charted depths of the inlets, it would be wise to let things chill for a while. Between the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers and Bob423’s boating friends who assist in updating the passage through the inlets, they will hopefully be marked for safe passage.

     Saturday, 10/1/22, we had a lazy start today. Pete did a bunch of minor chores around the boat. I downloaded and work on photos. There still seems to be problems with the blog. Notification still hasn’t come through. Once at River Dunes, I will update on a stronger system. Hopefully that works.

     All week we have been invaded by flies.  For some reason they like me better than Pete. They constantly light on me - my arms, my head, my hands, and even my face when I tried to take a nap. One woke me up one morning playing around my ear. Not the best way to wake up! Pete surprised me with one of the new electronic fly swatters. He bought the last one at the hardware store on Main. I will  have to modify my current fly-swatter technique.  Hopefully, I get better the more I use it.  I was a complete failure at it the first time I tried.

Gregg's Photo from
Monday

     I spoke with Gregg  and showed him the photo of the marina at sunset. He asked for a copy and gave me one of his in return.
     At 4, we met in the gazebo for drinks. Pam and Tom, SV CEST CE BON and Tony and his wife from MY MONTY CARLO. Various other boaters stopped by and chatted. The 4 of them had had a late brunch at Spoon River Restaurant and declined our offer to grab dinner at Jacks at the Point. We both intended to have burgers, but the custom pizzas look and tasted really good! Pete had the Jack’s Everything that was loaded with sausage, ham and peperoni, while I had the Veggie pizza that was excellent. The best part if that we have 2 more meals of these great pizzas.
     There is a 25-foot Dutch made boat, with only a cutty-cabin, that came in on Thursday morning and her crew was drenched. The husband, wife and 2 young daughters (maybe 4 and 7) headed over to a B& B Apparently the boat was shipped over and the family is doing the ICW and staying at B&B whenever possible. They made the trip across the Arbermarle Sound  in that horrible wind and rain.  The waves had to be a challenge in that small boat.
     The ants were displaced and hungry due to the flooding on Thursday. We have found a number of columns on the deck as they are searching for dryness and food. We found their highway-the power cord. I have washed everything down with vinegar and set traps, but they are still trying to dome inside. Fingers crossed that we won’t have a bigger problem.
     We’ve enjoyed our stay in Belhaven but are looking to continue south. Reservations have been made for River Dunes and Morehead City. I haven’t been able to get though to Harbor Village Marina, south of Camp Lejeune. W are also watching the remnants of Ian developing a low off the Delmarva Peninsula. Strong wind are supposed to affect this area. We will see . . . .

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~    K & P