River Dunes

April 6, 2023

Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve posted to the blog. Yes, we are safe and well and happy! Charleston was lovely (as always) although the dinner at the Peninsula was a disappointment.

From Charleston, we headed north to Georgetown, SC, a charming little town just off Winyah Bay. We had to lay over an extra day there, because gale-force winds were forecast. They never materialized, but better safe than sorry!

Next was a stop in Little River – think Myrtle Beach. Then up to the Cape Fear River and on to Wrightsville Beach. And then on Tuesday, an 85-mile run to Beaufort, NC. Fast cruise all the way. Very few No-Wake zones, and very little traffic.

I am still concerned about the leak in the cooling system. My temporary repair is holding up well, but we are still getting a slow leak. While we were in Charleston, I replaced the main bilge pump, which should have been keeping us dry automatically. It appears, however, that the main bilge pump is NOT working automatically, so I run it manually every 30 minutes, and that keeps the bilge dry. One more thing to investigate once we are home. At least we’re not getting any more warnings about water in the fuel; I was getting really tired of bleeding the filter.

Unfortunately, the refrigerator is still beeping, but Lynn has devised a set of protocols to deal with it: she keeps frozen water bottles in it to lower the temperature, and we simply turn it off at night so that she can sleep. Haven Harbour marina has the required part in hand, and it will be waiting for us on our return.

It sounds like our problems are legion, but they are all manageable.

Since we’re traveling the same way home that we did on the way south, the scenery is the same so not many new photos. Every day we pass the same boats, some of whom we see in the marinas when we stop. To pass, the captain calls out the boat on channel 16 asking for permission. Rod is usually the one passing since his boat runs faster than the sailboats or trawlers, but a boat we had met in Georgetown wanted to pass us and asked if it would be okay with Guinness – a first shout out for the dog on the ICW! (They had met Guinness during our layover in Georgetown).

We spent the last two nights at the Town Docks in Beaufort – very charming town. Last night we went to a wine and cheese tasting that was very well run. We bought bottles of each (wine and cheese), and Lynn picked them up this morning.

Today was a short, smooth run from Beaufort to River Dunes, an exclusive, members only development off the Neuse River. As marina guests, we have dining privileges in the Clubhouse. OOO-la-la! However, it turns out the dining room is closed tonight but three is a boaters lounge where we hope to catch some of the Masters.

As luck would have it, there is a 36-foot Legacy for sale here. We took a look. Just for giggles! But the math doesn’t work: it’s 4 feet longer than my boat and costs more than twice as much!