Once we were anchor down in Wrightsville Beach, we raised the yellow Q (quarantine) flag to signal that we were not yet cleared into the US, and Chris submitted our application on the Customs and Border Patrol ROAM app. We broke out the two Strongbacks I picked up in Marsh Harbour to celebrate our passage as we waited for clearance. In less than a half hour, our request for re-entry was processed and we were free to move about the country.
We didn’t arrive a moment too soon – later that evening, we were brushed by a nasty thunderstorm, and we’d have more storms Thursday and Friday nights. By now, we have our storm protocol down – rain jackets and lifejackets on, snorkel mask out (to protect our eyes in wind-whipped rain), electronics in the microwave, nav instruments on, and Chris standing watch to see if we’re dragging. This time, we added having a couple dock lines available – were we to drag, we would have been pushed down on the dock at the Blockade Runner hotel, and our plan was to tie up if needed. Fortunately we didn’t budge in any of the storms, and none of them lasted particularly long.
Weather didn’t allow for a whole lot of exploration, although we took advantage of what good weather we did have. I remembered reading about a fish market on Motts Channel, so I suggested we go find it and pick up some fresh fish. Motts Channel Seafood is definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in the area. They have great locally caught seafood, along with local veggies, wine, beer, and gifts, and you can tie your dinghy up at their dock while you shop.
We took a long walk down to the beach by the inlet – nearly four miles round-trip. It felt good to stretch our legs a bit… maybe more than a bit. Down at the beach, we found a protected tern and black skimmer nesting site. Terns are common pretty much everywhere we sail, but we’ve only seen the skimmers in a few places. On our way back, we stopped at The Workshop, a great little breakfast/lunch spot that we’d discovered when we came through on Silent Sky our first season.
Saturday morning, we hauled anchor and headed off to Cape Lookout for the night. We figured it was easier to anchor out there and head into Beaufort during the day since anchoring in Beaufort can be sketchy with limited options. There wasn’t much wind, and what there was was right on the nose, which meant we ended up motoring the whole way. We set a course that would keep us clear of the bombing range off Camp Lejeune, but nevertheless we found ourselves in the middle of a training/recertification exercise, getting buzzed by low-flying helicopters and watching landing craft zip back and forth. It was pretty interesting to be in the middle of all that! The trip to Cape Lookout felt so short compared to the big run we had just done.
While we didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time there, it was nice to get back to Cape Lookout. It’s such a beautiful spot, and it reminds us of our childhood home on Cape Cod. We found a good anchoring spot and spent a peaceful night on anchor. We’d hoped to see the aurora borealis, but it was not meant to be. But we got a beautiful sunset and a view of the lighthouse, and in the morning we were given the rare gift of seeing a Kemp’s Ridley turtle – the smallest sea turtle in the world, which is also critically endangered. Conservationists estimate that only 7,000-9,000 nesting females exist.
As originally planned/hoped/vaguely dared to dream, we ended our vacation week in Beaufort and were happy to get a slip at Homer Smith again. Of course the wind kicked up as we went to dock, and we ended up having to hold station off the marina for a bit while they got a catamaran settled. But we got tied up without incident and had most of the day ahead of us to wander.
We took a dinghy ride around Carrot Island and I suggested ducking into one of the little creeks, where we found six of the wild horses. It was super cool to get to see them so close, but it got even better. They decided to ford the creek only a few hundred yards from us, giving me a perfect photo op. We’ve been lucky to have some cool encounters (at a distance) with the horses in years past, but nothing nearly as cool as this.
The next weekend was supposed to be nasty weather-wise, so we extended our stay, but aside from a few periods of rain the weather mostly cooperated. It was not, however, a “let’s round Hatteras” kind of weekend – there were plenty of nasty storms around and to the north to make me glad we were safely in a slip.
We kicked off our anniversary weekend with dinner at Aqua on Friday night, which we’d been meaning to try, and it was fantastic. Then we spent our actual anniversary having a lovely, lazy day. I love farmers’ markets, and I was excited to be able to go to the Olde Beaufort Farmers’ Market that morning. We picked up some local caught shrimp from Joseph Darden, a born-and-raised local independent fisherman; got eggs, sausage and ribeye from Shenk Family Farm; and picked up a loaf of rosemary sourdough bread. I had to contain myself not to buy all the things – of all the things I miss about land life, I probably miss farmers’ markets the most.
Later, we took Squall out for a fishing trip through the marshes. It was great practice rowing (I’m a terrible rower), and it was fun to explore the back creeks and marshes even if we didn’t catch anything.
We’ve taken advantage of our time on the dock to tackle a bunch of projects. Windara was starting to look like a derelict, so we gave her a good bath, polished the metal to get rid of the rust, started some gelcoat repairs, and serviced the winches (well, half of them anyway). I also took advantage of the free laundry to do EVERYTHING on the boat – sheets, towels, blankets, pillows, clothes… I think it ended up being seven or eight loads.
We reserved the car on Thursday night and invited our new friends Bonnie and George to join us for a grocery run since getting the car isn’t always easy and they just needed a couple things at the Dollar Tree. We ended up at Lowes in Morehead City… George had mentioned it and I kept thinking “Er, food at a home improvement place?” It actually turned out to be a really good local grocery chain I’d not yet heard of, on the level of Publix, Harris Teeter, or Wegmans. We spent WAY too much on food, but we’re now provisioned for whatever next week throws our way.
Making concrete plans has been tough this season – forecasts oscillate between “Great weather! Go!” and “Y’all crazy? Stay put!” We tried to extend our stay at Homer Smith for the Memorial Day week, but between the holiday weekend and the Big Rock fishing tournament boats starting to show up, they couldn’t accommodate us (not that we were really surprised, but we had to ask!). We also tried at Town Creek and ended up on their waitlist, so our backup plan is to try to anchor in Taylor Creek (not my favorite option with the intense current and the number of boats that anchor there) or head back to Cape Lookout for the week. Stay or go is definitely a game time decision, but it’s looking like we might get lucky.
