After a much needed lukewarm shower and a wonderful night’s sleep we left Centerville Waterway Marina at 6:15 on Thursday morning and slipped under the Centerville Bridge before it closed for rush hour from 6:30 to 8:30. From there it was a lot of motoring on the ICW without event, but once we hit the Albemarle Sound the wind was on our bow and we fought that through the Alligator River. This hurt our speed and we stopped for the night just before the Alligator-Pungo Canal.
Sabrina and I had anchored in this spot when we brought JV north from Wrightsville Beach 5 years ago and my dad had anchored there when he helped my Uncle Bill bring his sailboat north 10 years ago. Both of us had weathered storms in this anchorage on those occasions and true to form, the wind picked up overnight. Our new 40 lb. Manson Supreme anchor held wonderfully though, and the only problem I had was getting the anchor back on the boat in the morning since it had buried itself overnight.
Today was another early morning and after getting the anchor back on board we motored along through the Alligator-Pungo Canal and the interior of NC. With very little breeze and nice weather, Sabrina and I were able to finish rigging the boat and finish up some of our projects while my dad had the helm. Late this afternoon on the Neuse River we stretched out the sails to make sure everything was working for the next leg of the journey. We’re docked at the Oriental Marina and Inn since the (free) Town Dock was full. A very nice shower and some shore leave helped out the morale of the crew this evening. You should be able to see JV past the large blue hulled sailboat when the Oriental Harborcam updates in the morning. We hadn’t arrived yet when they snapped the last photo today.
Our current plan is to finalize more items tomorrow while we sit at the dock. Then we’re going to fill with water and diesel and take an easy day to move the boat 30 (statute) miles to Beaufort, NC. Weather permitting, Sunday morning we’ll head out the Beaufort Inlet to some point further south. The weather and our stamina will determine how far we go!
The Spot will be on for the voyage, so please follow along if you’re curious about our progress, you can find our latest updates here.
Some quick thoughts that I forgot:
- I was down to short sleeves and thought about putting on shorts earlier today
- Our cell phones don’t work in Oriental, maybe we’ll get service again before we head out to sea
- Yes, I thought it was strange to watch the sun rise on the Bay in full camo without a gun in my hands
- Nermal is no longer terrified of the engine
- My dad snapped all those pictures, I haven’t located my camera yet, and I’m not sure where I packed it
- We haven’t fished yet, but once we hit the ocean expect photos of our catch
- M & M’s Cafe in Oriental makes the best Shrimp n’ Grits and their fresh oysters were great too
- The marina here is decorated for Christmas, I almost feel like we should put up our Christmas lights
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