Fun and Anchoring

It has been a couple days since the last post, so let me start with where I left off.

Two days ago, it was Mark's birthday, from Average Looper.  We were staying at a very beautiful marina, with more amenities than one can imagine, including paddle boards.  I asked Mark and Jane, if they wanted to make a wager on doing the yoga tree pose on a paddle boat.  Whoever lost, would have to buy dinner at Spoon River, in Belhaven.  (We had heard how good the food was.)  Jane declined.  Mark initially declined as well.  He said it was his birthday, he wanted to sit by the pool, drink a cold beer, and read his book.  After the beer, the resting by the pool, a little bit of sun, and maybe getting bored with the book, he changed his mind. I hate to admit it, but Mark won the bet.  He held his pose longer... although there are no pictures  to really prove it.  Then, we raced to his boat, and back to the dock... and he beat me at that too.

After the fun and games, we were joined by Jim, on Bluenoser.  We headed to a friend's home, who live near the marina, and we enjoyed their company for the evening.

Yesterday, our three boats (Annabelle, Average Looper, and Bluenoser) headed up the Pamlico River to an anchorage across from River Rat Yacht Club.  It was a very shallow anchorage, less than 5 feet.  I headed upstream a little further than either of the other two boats.  We were expecting a late afternoon thunderstorm, but what we ended up with was severe thunderstorms with tornado warnings.  In the worst part of the storm, Bluenoser's anchor lost its hold and started drifting into Average Looper.  Jim was able to get control of his boat and get his anchor reset halfway between my boat and Average Looper.

This morning, we came a few miles up to Belhaven.  A quaint little town, with wonderful restaurants.  I paid up on my bet.  We were greeted this afternoon by the town ambassador.  Tonight we say farewell to our good friend, Jim, who will head out ahead of us, and home to Canada.  We will be able to see him again just as we finish up the Trent-Severn Locks.

Some Memorable Moments

OK... today is only the 4th day.  I am happy to be sitting back and relaxing!  There are moments, which I don't have any pictures of, but somehow, they seem like the ones that I wish I could paint a picture of!

The first, was the guy whose outboard exploded, as we were leaving the dock.  Fortunately, it went out before we could get them an extinguisher or take any pictures.  (I am sure Southport Marina has it on their footage.)

On our second day out, we went under two twelve foot bridges.  The Surf City bridge only opens on the hour.  We arrived about 15 minutes early, and I was tempted to see if I could lower my antenna so I could fit under the bridge.  I would have needed a wrench, and loosened it while hanging off the side of my little boat.  I chose to wait it out with Average Looper and a few other boats.  The bridges have fairly narrow openings to go through, and there are some general rules in going under bridges, which are usually followed.  One rule is to not pass other boats, another rule would be not to throw a large wake, as the energy of the wave created by the wake, will go back and forth within the confines of the opening.  Average Looper headed the line through the bridge, and I followed.  A cuddy cabin fishing type boat decided to head in after me, and pass me with a large wake, then cut across my bow, behind Average Looper, and into the marina just past the bridge.  The water is fairly contained between the walls of the bridge, so I felt like I was in a washing machine, being thrown around.  I had a few choice words for the captain of that fishing vessel, which I did not put out on the VHF radio, for everyone to hear.  It was all I could do to steer through the mess the fishing vessel made.

The last moment I wanted to share, happened last night.  I layed down in my little V-berth, under my cozy blankets, and looked up at the starry night sky, through my hatch.  The Big Dipper was perfectly framed by my hatch!  It was such a beautiful night!  I thought to myself that this was what doing the Loop is all about -  moments like this one, falling asleep under the stars.

Day Two!

We made it another day!  I am just going to post a few pictures.  Some of them I took, because they made me laugh.  For instance, we were going fairly slow, and a sailboat, Kitten Wake, passed us.  OK... I know we were slow, but today, I averaged 1.5 gallons per hour, which is pretty good.  Besides, we weren't in a hurry!  I saw a Scarab, with three big motors.  This didn't catch Mark and Jane's attention, but since my new neighbors, who now live in my house, have a Scarab, it was fun to take a picture.  I think this Scarab was bigger than Glen's!  I imagine it takes a couple gallons just to start the motor.  Scarab's would NEVER be passed by a sailboat.


The most difficult part of the day was heading through the Bogue Sound.  It was a bumpy ride in my boat.  I just wanted to get through it.  We headed into Spooner's Creek to anchor, but there were other boats ahead of us, and not enough spots to anchor.  We decided to stay at the marina, which worked out really well.  We are quite comfortable here.

Here are a few pics!

Shrimp Boats

Spooner's Marina

This Scarab has a hard top and 3 motors!

Kitten Wake - Yes, she passed me!

Waiting for Onslow Bridge to open

The Pink House.