July 2006 Vacation Cruising in Coastal North Carolina
Wednesday, July 5th

The crew of Motivation pulled up their anchor and were off at a very early hour (at least very early as far as Tammy is concerned). After breakfast, we decided that the goal for the day was to walk to the lighthouse on foot, leaving Ashiya to anchor sail alone for a while. We provisioned with plenty of water and headed to shore in Puffin. We crossed to the ocean side, and proceeded to take a nice long walk around the tip of the Cape to the lighthouse. The trip was a leisurely one, with Sheryl stopping to look at everything and take lots of pictures, pictures, and more pictures, while I occasionally needed to stop and swim (Sheryl may have gotten wet occasionally, herself, however inadvertently). After checking out the touristy area of the National Park around the lighthouse, we walked the sand road back, past the old Coast Guard station, and to the ocean side of the beach nearer our dingy. This was a shorter, but much hotter route. By the time we arrived back at the dingy, we had walked nearly 9 miles (all sandy miles) in alternatingly damp and dry swimsuits, and we both had the chafing to prove it. (Click here to see the sandy path our feet traversed)

With the little that remained of the afternoon, we did a few boat chores, then dove in for a swim (finally enjoying the clear water I had been yearning for since we bought Ashiya almost one year ago). In the evening, we sat down to discuss plans for our next destination. NOAA was calling for NE winds ranging 15-20 knots on Friday, and Claiborne implied that he would not want to be anchored in the Cape Lookout bight with 20 knot winds from the northeast. We decided to head out at first light and start down the ICW to an anchorage in Swansboro. Sheryl has a friend/co-worker who owns property there and happens to be on vacation this week as well. With favorable conditions, we may even continue on the ICW down as far as Wrightsville Beach. We turned in and slept through a series of rain squalls throughout the night. However, looking on the brighter side, the silver linining (or, more accurately, a broad spectrum of colors) to the clouds is often worth the wind and rain.