An early start on Sunday April 21 st to try to catch the current as we enter Cape Fear River. As you can see in the background the fog has come and Old Baldy Lighthouse is barely visible in the background. We had quite the show of thunder, lightening, wind gusts and rain throughout the night. The wedding that was taking place close to the marina had to finish at 9pm due to the weather. Today is our grandsons Ollie’s 8th birthday which he is celebrating in LA - what a lucky duck.
Todays cruising was slow due to the many inlets along the way Carolina Beach Inlet, Masonboro Inlet, Mason Inlet, Rich Inlet, Little Topsail Inlet, New Topsail Inlet, New River Inlet, Browns Inlet, Bear Inlet, and Bogue Inlet - you get the drift. While cruising passed these areas one has to be on the lookout for shoaling which can happen very suddenly and without warning. We spend the night at Casper’s Marina near downtown Swansboro however it was so cold and rainy that we remained on board and turned on the heating.
We passed Perspective yesterday so it was unfortunate to see her aground on our way to Swansboro. How to ruin you day and adventure on the loop.
Just goes to show that graffiti can turn up anywhere. Nana spotted this display during the foggy ride.
Monday April 22nd New Horizon leaves Swansboro and is headed to Oriental. We are excited to visit downtown Oriental as last time we were in this area on Ireland’s Eye we anchored outside and had a very bumpy night. Nana and Nandad would like to have cruised the Outer Banks , which is a long strip of barrier islands along the mid- Atlantic coast however the weather once again dictated our direction so the decision was made to proceed to Oriental. This takes us into the Bogue Sound passing Morehead City and Beaufort into Adams Creek Canal and the Neuse River. We have a reservation at the Oriental marina and along the way we pass the Anna Maria Princess.
Oriental is a very quite sleepy unique town. We went on quite the chase to find the dock office but in the end we were greeted by two wonderful gentle men with quite the sense of humor. Life appears to move slowly here and is know as the “ Sailing Capital do the Carolinas” due to its wide- open waters, steady winds and easy access to creeks and coves. Here we meet a couple we had seen in the Bahamas at Warderick Wells on their sailboat L’Equipe and we had some wonderful banter and laughter so once again never got off the boat. However we made up for it in the morning and took a lovely walk to the breakfast Restaurant Brantley’s before leaving for Belhaven.
Here is the garden set up at Barcos which is right at the tip of the marina but was unfortunately closed on Mondays. Looks like they might have movie nights here and there is also a local theatre in this sleepy town.
On our walk to breakfast Nandad spotted this plaque along the way!
Tuesday April 23 rd today was a short cruise to one of our favorite spots on the ICW Belhaven. We have a slip reservation at the Grande Manor - formally River Forest - and are excited to see what progress the owner has made since our visit in November. Today we had at least four boats in front of us and the same number at our stern so a busy day passing vessels on the wide section of the Neuse River. As we approach the R.E.Mayo Shrimp Co. With lots of shrimp boats and this very decorative pirates ship.
From here we cruise into the Pamlico River and Pungo River and arrive into Belhaven early afternoon. The owner was there to tie us up and seemed very excited with how things were progressing. The pickleball courts are ready, the doggie park is completed, the gazebo and outdoor event area is under construction and the old Manor is in full swing as a bed and breakfast. The restaurant is due to open tomorrow - bummer we miss that ! Nana and Nandad take advantage of the golf cart and provision. Our favorite restaurant Spoon River is closed on Tuesdays so once again we eat onboard with a beautiful sunset view and a full moon - what a life. The winds have picked up so our pickleball game was a little blowy and we are rocking with the wind but safely tied up for the night. Tomorrow we will aim to get to Coinjock.
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