After large doses of wind, rain and clouds from Baltimore to Elizabeth City, we were more than ready to see the sun again. Tuesday was spent fixing the rudders under gloomy, spitting skies. On Wednesday morning, we resumed our trip south, past Elizabeth City and out into Albemarle Sound. As Wednesday wore on and we entered the Alligator River, the sun returned and changed our cool and cloudy day into a pleasantly warm one. We anchored for the night just short of the Alligator River canal, with a couple of hours to enjoy the afternoon and watch the sunset. With no clouds to be underlit by the setting sun, it was a "blue sunset".

With only 30 nautical miles to Belhaven on Thursday, we slept in a little and got going about an hour after sunrise. Another sunny day! As we made our way down the canal, we were baffled by the mysterious beast swimming across the river. It was too long to be a fowl or a beaver. As we closed the distance, we realized we were seeing the head and spine of a deer! We did not see a single alligator, though.

It didn't take long before the first of many power boats flew by us. Almost all of them slowed down to pass us, which was polite of them. In some cases, though, it's actually better when they go by at full speed, with their hulls planing across the top of the water. Then again, there are the big "Sportfisher" boats that were apparently designed to move more water more violently than any other boat ever built. Sportfishers produce the biggest wakes at all speeds. They accomplish this by having very wide, deep and heavy butts that they drag through the water, with their bows pointing towards the sky. The only thing I can think is that these characteristics were part of the Sportfisher design criteria.

Brooke and I explored Belhaven on bikes and were a little saddened by the experience. Clearly, it is a town that was once prosperous. Many of the stately homes along the waterfront are gone or dilapidated. We counted about 20 nice homes remaining and 20 in dire need of repair and as many vacant lots. Likewise, the downtown business district was largely deserted. We decided to bike to the Food Lion, which was over a mile away from downtown along a busy highway. That's where all the commercial development has gone. We finished the day with a huge and tasty meal at the Fish Hook, one of the few establishments remaining downtown. Both Tim and I woke up in the middle of the night, reeling from too much food!

Friday, we were off to Oriental. There was a little fog as we got going, but it quickly burned off, giving us another glorious day. We decided to go off the beaten path: Instead of following the parade of boats down the Intercoastal Waterway, we sailed out towards Pamlico Sound. While this added an hour or so to our journey, it allowed us to relax at the wheel, with no obstructions to avoid, no boats to dodge, no huge wakes to curse at, and, best of all, no danger of going aground by straying a little from the middle of the canal. Our esteemed crewman, Otto the Pilot, did all the steering for us.

We docked at Oriental Marina and Inn and were very pleased all around--friendly people, great accommodations and a very popular Tiki Bar. It was undoubtedly an exaggeration, but we were told Oriental is a town of 900 people and 3000 sailboats.

Brooke and I went on a beautiful walk through the town and along the shore. The only snag was finding a nautically-themed store on Main St. which had too many things we liked. The store owners appreciated our business.

We were curious about how Oriental got its name. We found out that, when one of the boring founding fathers thought to call it Smithville, his more clever wife suggested "Oriental," after the name she had seen on a wrecked ship.

We drove to New Bern on Saturday for lunch with Russell Adams, a friend and experienced sailor who has logged many miles aboard Options. As we were leaving town, we noticed an endless stream of people parking far away from downtown and walking a mile or more across a long bridge. They were heading to the New Bern Mum Festival, which attracts a quarter million or so unfortunate souls each year. We were not impressed. We did see a few mums, but mostly it reeked of fried food and was heavily congested. It seemed like all 250,000 people were packed into a few city blocks.

With over a mile to walk back to the car, Brooke's sandal strap broke. I was able to snag some clear packing tape from one of the vendors. I taped the sandal to Brooke's foot in a secure and not unattractive manner. With all the boat problems we've had, I think I'm getting better at improvising temporary fixes!