We spent A LOT OF TIME last night checking out the marine weather forecast. There is a storm coming up the coast that is going to mess things up for a few days, so we decided to hole up here in Beaufort. We’ll leave Friday instead of today (Wed) as planned.

So in the last 5 days I lost three days. That’s a lot of time to make up. It’s important not to stick too rigidly to a schedule BUT the marina situation is really tight this year, and I don’t want to lose my reservations.

We’ll just have to cut short our stops at Carolina Beach and Isle of Palms.

I try not to second-guess my decisions, but I was pretty pissed off when today dawned beautifully. I learned, however, that it was quite rough outside (as predicted.) The charter captains who went out this morning said they would not go back this afternoon. I understand that the Beaufort Inlet is wide and well-marked, but it – like any inlet – can be treacherous. On the day we arrived, in fact, the Coast Guard asked everyone to stay off channel 16 (the hailing and distress channel), because they were conducting an active search. It seems that a 30′ Scout capsized n the inlet Tuesday morning. No survivors. No bodies recovered. YIKES!

Anyway, we used our day productively. I washed the boat and a load of clothes, and Guinness supervised from the berth:

Then we walked into town and saw lots more pretty boats and houses.

Many of the house have historical markers, and many are Revolutionary (1770’s)

These guys said I could join on the spot. No application form; no waiting period. They said I would fit right in!

I’m thinking about it.

BTW, we saw some fellows emptying seining nets today, and when I asked what the fish were, they said Jumpm Mackul, which I interpreted to mean Jumping Mackerel. These are the fish we saw jumping in Adam’s Creek, and this – I am told – is the season for it. They are not particularly good to eat BUT Captain Chris, one of the charter captains, filleted a King Mackerel this morning and offered me a nice portion. We’ll grill it tonight.

Tomorrow, we have to change marinas. I asked for a two-day weather extension, but they could only give me one day, because someone else is scheduled to come into my slip.. See? Crowded. We’re moving right next door. No biggie. Except that I expect it will be raining.

I remember Beaufort from probably 30 years ago, and I was looking forward to seeing it again. It is even prettier than I remembered. The houses are all white clapboard with two-story porches.

The retail shops are cute, as well.

There’s a waterfront boardwalk that runs for about a mile, decorated with pots of flowers. And extending out from the boardwalk are piers holding some of the prettiest boats you’ll ever see.

Guinness and I are in a waterfront restaurant having a fried oyster Po Boy, and looking at this yacht.

And here’s a surprise: a memorial to the pilot of Challenger.

The trip from Oriental was painless. We deliberately took it very slow, and we followed a commercial trawler the entire way.

I figured I couldn’t get in trouble if I followed him!

We saw our first dolphins today. VERY EXCITING!. They were chasing a school of mackerel toward us, and the fish were jumping out of the water constantly and repeatedly.

It’s time to start planning tomorrow’s run to Wrightsville Beach. Tomorrow will be a long day, whether we go outside or in The Ditch. The weather today is GORGEOUS. 82 degrees but feels hotter in the sun.

Remember that great quote from “The Abyss”?

Well, we’re back. After I ran aground, I was able to back Freedom out of the sand? mud? But when I did so, I forgot to ensure that the rudder was straight, So it appears that the rudder got pushed over so far that I sheared the metal “key” that connects the rudder post to the steering gear. The “key” is intended to behave this way: it is designed to shear off to protect the rest of the steering gear.

The repairs took less than a day. And since we had a contingency day planned this week, we are still on schedule!

Here’s a shot of the boat up on the Marine Travellift.

Here, you can see the heavy, curved metal skeg that protects the prop and rudder. That’s why the damage was so minor.

We used today to re-provision at the Piggly Wiggly and plan the next several days’ routes.

Tomorrow we’ll take a short run to Beaufort, just to ensure that everything is working as it should. Provided Freedom passes muster, on Wednesday we’re going out the Beaufort Inlet and run about 100 miles south along the coast to Wrightsville Beach. And, yes, we are watching the weather carefully.

This was always an alternative plan. I think it’s prudent because we may lose a day to Hurricane Eta. This skips one stop in Topsail Beach. We’ll try to visit Topsail on the way back north.

BTW, THIS Beaufort is pronounced Bow-Furt, y’all. In SC, it’s BeewFurt.

Well, we’re safely tied up in Oriental, after a 3-hour-long tow from Tow Boats US. Thank goodness I have an unlimited towing policy!

I’m hoping the rudder repair will be easy – it appears that I just sheered the key that aligns the rudder post with the steering arm. But I do hope to have the boat hauled to check for hidden damage.

Now we have to turn our attention to Hurricane Eta. Looks like we will meet her in Charleston next Sunday. I’ll deal with that later!

Today’s trip from Belhaven to Oriental was off to a great start, but stuff happens.

I got outside the channel and ran aground. Stupid – I was using the binoculars and took my eye off the chartplotter. The perils of single-handling.

And if I’m honest, it’s because I was impatient. I was trying to read the name on the transom of the boat in front of me, so that I could hail him on the VHF radio and request a slow pass.

Freedom has a lot of horsepower, and I managed to get free, but it appears I damaged the rudder…it is not responding. So….I am enjoying a long wait for a towboat. He tells me he is on another job, but he will be here in three hours.

Once we get towed into Oriental, we’ll have to get the boat hauled and inspect the damage. I may be flying home for Thanksgiving in PA after all. LOL.

Before we get to Belhaven, a final note about Coinjock…and an unexpected surprise. Guinness and I were seated for dinner, waiting to order our 32 ounce prime rib, when Peter Wilm showed up. Peter is a good friend from The Haven Yacht Club, and a super guy. He was traveling with his daughter and a friend on his 65′ Riviera (look it up). They made it from St Michaels to Coinjock in one high-speed run! What a pleasant surprise!

We left Coinjock at 7AM in DENSE fog. The first hour was totally by instruments. I could see the boat ahead of me on radar, but visibility was down to two boat lengths! Then, an hour later we broke out onto brilliant sunshine and calm seas. WOT for the next two hours! (That’s Wide Open Throttle for you landlubbers.)

We crossed the dreaded Albemarle Sound in 30 minutes, we snuck under the Alligator River Bridge without waiting for an opening – we had 1 foot to spare! And we were tied up in Bellhaven by noon.

We could have gone further, but that’s enough. 85 miles today. Exactly 5 hours. One hour in fog and four in paradise.

I had time this afternoon to take Guinness for a drive around time in a complimentary golf cart. His first ride in a golf cart. And do a load of laundry (also complimentary)!

Belhaven is a tiny town..pjust 2000 people, six churches and two bars. But the harbor is gorgeous. We are facing due west, and I can’t wait for tonight’s sunset.

Tomorrow we head for Oriental, NC – 50 miles away. Should be an easy day.

Tonight, we are staying at Coinjock, VA, home of the famous 32 ounce prime rib. Yes, you heard me right! The weird name AND the size of the rib.

So cool that we are already deep into Virginia.

We had a spectacular run down from Portsmouth. The earlier part of this leg was slow – the Great Lock, lots of No Wake Zones, and bridges that open only at certain times. Here’s a shot of Guinness waiting for an opening at the Great Lock.

This was our first experience transiting a lock, and we were quite apprehensive about it, since the waterway guides warned us that we’d need control lines fore and aft. Guinness has a hard time handling lines, because he does not have thumbs, so I was concerned that I might not be able to handle both lines. As it turned out, the rise is only about 6 feet, and I was able to control the boat easily myself.

Then, once we got through the last bridge at MM 15, the fog burned off, and the last 35 miles were awesome. We ended up in line behind two Beneteau Fast Trawlers, and we did the last 35 miles at 17 knots. (nice cruising speed)

Total time Portsmouth to Coinjock: just under 6 hours. Left at 7:15; tied up at 1PM.

Ceasar salad with shrimp for lunch. Looking forward to that prime rib!

Remember that fog bank we spotted yesterday on the Chesapeake? It must have followed us south, because this morning we are socked in.

I’d love to send you the clear and foggy photos I took of the Norfolk skyline across the river. Last night at 6:00 brilliantly clear. This morning at 6:00 invisible. But I realized that – since its latest update – my iPhone is now storing photos with a .HEIC format, and WordPress won’t accept them. I’ve changed the camera setting back to .jpg, and I can’t be bothered converting the photos just now. You must just use your imagination.

We heard fog horns in the middle of the night. Massive. Deep, powerful horns. Two of them, sounding every two minutes. Very cool

And what sounded like cannon fire. I have to Google that one. Cannons were used in the fog centuries ago, but I didn’t know they would be used today.

The first boat already left, heading south (6:30 AM). I think we’ll wait an hour. Let it lighten up a bit. I don’t expect this fog to burn off until 11:00, and I can’t wait that long.

Today we transit the Great Lock, and as soon as we do, we have to stop for fuel and a pumpout. Our current marina is out of diesel, and their pumpout station is broken. Brilliant.

This post is out of order. I wrote it Thur morning while we were underway, but it got lost in the ether.

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It’s Thursday morning, and we’re on our way from Smith Point to Portsmouth, Virginia. It is spectacularly beautiful on the Bay today. The sea is flat, almost like glass. The sun is brilliantly bright, and there’s not another boat within 5 miles of me in any direction.

We continue to charge due south: The wake is straight as an arrow behind me, we are pointed right at our next waypoint, and I am enjoying a nice hot bowl of chili.

One of the best ideas I had was to prepare my lunch every morning and put it in a thermos so it’s readily available when I get hungry.

It’s a gorgeous day with smooth seas and bright sun. I am actually working on my laptop while we’re under way.

We saw our first pelicans today. It’s funny, I don’t think we have any up in Rock Hall but just one day south, and we’ve encountered them. I associate them with Florida and the Lowcountry, so it’s a good sign…

Can’t wait ‘til we see our first dolphins!

We are encountering a very strange atmospheric condition just now. Everything behind us is shrouded in fog, but everything ahead of us is brilliantly clear. Behind us, our visibility is limited to about 4 miles, but ahead our visibility is unlimited. Love it.

Norfolk / Portsmouth is the world’s largest shipyard. Yeah! Here’s an aircraft carrier and a cruiser side-by side:

Plus, huge commercial docks. Here’s a bunch of 40′ ocean-going containers being loaded like a bunch of Legos.

Once you get past Norfolk, it turns out that Portsmouth is lovely…river walks, tree-lined streets, a historical district, and a very pleasant waterfront brewpub.

Plus, it’s about 75 degrees and sunny!.

This is Mile Marker Zero. Tomorrow we head down the Elizabeth River, through a lock, and into the ICW!