The picture above is sunset at Mile Hammock, Camp LeJune, N.C.

Hello from Southport, N.C. A lot has happened since our last post when we were just leaving Coinjock. We had an uneventful trip down the Alligator River until we got to the Alligator-Pungo Canal. Somewhere in that stretch our water lift muffler became detached from the mounts and fell against the shaft coupling. Net result; there was a hole in the muffler spewing carbon monoxide into the boat along with a lot of saltwater. The drip less shaft log was also throwing more water in the boat once again. We slowed down and kept on going. The bilge pump was able to keep up removing the water. We made a reservation at Belhaven Waterway Marina where they have a first rate mechanic. Fortunately the remaining 3 hours passage to Belhaven passed without further incident. The mechanic/owner Les looked over the issues on our arrival and pronounced them fixable. A new muffler was ordered with next day delivery. Since we arrived on Wednesday before Thanksgiving almost all business was shut down for the holiday. The muffler arrived on Tuesday and installed a couple of hours later. The drip less shaft bearing was adjusted and performing better than ever. Bottom line - We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Belhaven N.C. We ate steamed oysters at the local sports bar, lunch at the Gingerbread Café and dinner at Fish Hooks, all great food. I made daily trips to the local Ace hardware store to make myself feel at home. Owners of the marina, Les and Brenda Porter made us feel we were in good hands and real welcome. One of the nicest things about the marina is the heated shower rooms. They even supply bath linens. How cool is that.
Speaking of cool, we have really been enjoying our new cockpit enclosure. It keeps the cool wind off us and when the sun shines it really heats up so we peel off layers of outer wear. We have a small electric heater to use in the cabin when in a marina with power and a small alcohol heater for evenings when we are anchored out. It is getting up on a cold boat in the morning that is the hardest part. Walt still can't get going for the sunup starts. He is doing good to be ready for an 8a.m. anchor up start.

We had dinner with our friends Paul and Laurie Welser in Moorhead City. We caught up with all their sailing adventures after temporarily moving ashore.
We are keeping our fingers crossed and prayers flowing for further safe travels.

We have learned a lot already and believe it or not enjoying the experience. We enjoyed meeting many locals in Belhaven which is always a great part of these trips.