Cheryl's Notes:

We were only able to post a short notice last time, so we have lots to tell. Our anchorage in South River was perfect except for the mosquitoes. They descended each night at sundown, and were big enough to carry away a small child. We learned after the first night that we had to close all of our ports. The screens have shrunk in the hot sun and the cracks are big enough to let in the blood thirsty bugs. We spent most of that first night swatting and slapping bugs. We spent the rest of the weekend heading below early.

This was only the beginning of our wildlife sightings. Since then we have encountered seagulls, pelicans, wild turkeys and deer along the shore, gray dolphins and jellyfish in the water. The morning water around our boat in Belhaven was filled with small jellyfish. I am glad that we decided not to take a morning swim. We are now moving up the Pungo/Alligator Canal. We will be to the end of the Alligator River by tomorrow night, but haven't sighted any alligators. We had a false alarm, but it turned out to be a log. Our anchorage tonight at mile marker 102 on the Intercoastal Waterway is right in the flight path of the Cherry Point Air Station. We tried several times to get pictures of them flying overhead. The problem is that by the time we heard them, they were already overhead and moving fast.

On a side note: John is turning into quite the cruising character. He has given up on shaving and is worried that the chin strap on his Tilley hat will leave him with a tan line.

John's Notes:

The last time I made an entry it was too late to say much. We were in a hurry to get back to the boat and anchor before dark and before the bugs got too bad.

Our stop in Belhaven was quite an experience. I didn't stop there on the way down to New Bern. At that time we were getting close to our destination and I was ready for the trip to end. Plus there was a hurricane on the horizon.

Belhaven is supposed to be this quaint little town much like Bayfield. If our experience at the fuel dock is any indication, Bayfield has a long way to fall before it reaches the depth of Belhaven. Like Bayfield, however, half the town is either out of business or for sale.

Not being familiar with the area and with no information in our cruising guides, I decided to call the one marina that has both diesel and gas on the radio and asked how late they were open. If they closed at 5:00 we would anchor and get fuel the next morning. A woman responded and said that they are open till 8:30. With our ETA at around 5:00, we had plenty of time. She said that when we got to the breakwater to call back on the radio and that someone would be right down to assist us. We did just as she suggested but got no response on the radio. Had to make several calls before some guy answered. He indicated that we should tie up anywhere along the dock and he would be right there. After navigating a really narrow channel we tied off at about 5:10. Then the wait began. After about 15 minutes Cheryl decides to get rid of some trash while I filled our bow water tank. She returns in a few minutes and says that she doesn't see anyone around. No big deal, we have several things we can be doing on deck. After about a half hour, Cheryl ventures forth again. This time she runs into a guy who says that he lives there but doesn't work there (Liveaboard. Looks like he could be the main character in a Hemingway novel centered in the middle of Duval Street in the Conch Republic). He says that the regular dock master was sick so they are a little short handed. I'm beginning to wonder just what they would do if they had a full crew. We seem to be the only customer they have, at least potentially. Now 45 minutes have gone by. Me, I'm still cool. I think I'll have a beer. I tell Cheryl that it's starting to become a game. Not sure that she agrees. We are out of ice and she wants a cocktail. What? My beer was cold. Now an hour has gone by and the crew from another boat that we have been following all day shows up at the dingy dock (they didn't need any services and had already anchored.) We do introductions and chat for a few minutes, and wait some more. Now it has been an hour and fifteen minutes. Finally, a guy shows up in a truck. Apologizes for the delay. They have been real busy. Really. There has got to be something I'm missing. From my first impression, this guy is missing more than I am. He begins to explain all his problems. Short help, really busy and the fact that he dropped his cell phone in the water and had to get a new one. He is the local Tow-Boat US Captain and is on call 24/7. Note to self. Pray to God you never need a tow or assistance out of Belhaven. It takes awhile but I finally get a couple of words in and explain that I need diesel, gas, pump out and ice. All of this should take no more than about 10 minutes. How long can it take to pump 14 gallons of diesel, 2 gallons of gas, pump a 17 gallon tank and give me a block and bag of ice. I can see Ed McMan asking Carson; how long does it take.....................????? Well, it takes how long it takes. In this case almost an hour. He has to walk back down the dock and turn on the diesel pump. Then realizes that he also needs to turn on the gas pump. Another trip to the head of the dock. The pump out is a totally different story. He has this contraption that he wheels down the dock. Almost pushes it overboard. There is no way to describe what it is. It looks like a Radio Flyer without sides. The only thing I can tell you is that the basis of it is some kind of reciprocating pump with loose attachments all over the place. Different size nozzles, etc. I make the comment that maybe he might consider securing them to the "truck" in some manner so that they wouldn't fall overboard. He says, "No problem. If they do, the hardware store is only a few blocks down the street. I'm sure that some unsuspecting cruiser will appreciate that fact while he waits who knows how long for a pump out. I take command of the proper fittings for our boat. Somewhere along the line he has mentioned that the hardware store closes at 6:30 and I glance at my watch. This is no time for a lost fitting. The hardware store closes any minute now. I connect the proper fitting to our deck port while he tried to untangle the hoses. Spastic is about the only word that comes to mind. Now he informs me that there is going to be a problem with priming the pump. His help (when they are there) doesn't use the equipment correctly and this is going to take awhile. I'm reminded of some mystery novels that I've read where the defense attorney uses the phrase SODDI................Some other dude did it. Finally, we finish what we came here to do. But wait. There's more. I still have to pay the bill. We get to his office and he uses a calculator and adds the bill several times. I'm thinking World Series here. Best of 7 wins. I look at the bill and give him the benefit of the doubt. I just want to get the hell out of Dodge. We haven't been to town yet and I want to fine a WiFi spot and anchor before dark. When he first got to the dock and apologized for being SO busy he wanted to know if there was anything he could do or us that would make up for him being well over an hour late. At that time we suggested that it would be nice if we could leave the boat at the dock for a couple of hours while we went up town. He says sure, and we can even use one of his golf carts to go to town with. Everyone around here uses golf carts. It's the most popular car in town. Too bad we took a little extra time at the fuel dock. We can't find the golf cart and walk the few blocks to the main part of town. Of course everything is closed now. We did find a WiFi spot and posted a short blog entry. Now we race back to the boat so that we can get to the anchorage before dark or the mosquitoes have us for supper. Did I mention Walter Cronkite? Seems that he and this guy got to be pretty good buddies over the years when Walter stopped here. Cronkite was a serious sailor and cruiser. Now I'm a big history buff but I don't remember this one. This guy tells me that at one time one of the political parties wanted Walter to run for president. I might have been out of the country at that time but I remember Walter as being the most trusted man in America, so it could have happened. Anyway, on one of his numerous visits to Belhaven, Walter asks this guy if he can use his phone to make a long distance call. Well, being good buddies and all this guy says sure. Walter picks up the phone, dials a number and tells whoever is on the other end that he has considered the proposition and respectfully declines. You heard it here first people. Direct from Belhaven. Walter is not going to be president. Guy says that he called WITN, the local TV station and gave them the scoop. We have to stop here on our way back. There just have to be more Paul Harvey type stories in Belhaven.

I really have to thank Paul for his assistance this last weekend. I didn't do a very good job of checking everything out before we left. I kept forgetting that we were gone the better part of two months and things happen when you let a boat sit that long in warm salt water. Just about everything is ship shape again. I did tell Paul, however, that he would be better off choosing his friends more carefully. I've been sailing all my life and just like dealing with Bruce Nicolle or Pat and Dave, hardly a week goes by around them when I don't learn something new.