Beaufort Day 2 - November 1

Town Creek seems to be as good a spot as any to sit out the next couple of days as Hurricane Noel passes to the East of us. Today is sunny and hot... around 80 but the winds are predicted to begin to pick up this evening and blow for about 48 hours.

We walked the town this morning, found the post office and picked up a few things at a convenience store. The waterfront consists of about 8 blocks of shops, restaurants, and docks. It was very clean and tidy. The three or four blocks behind Front Street consist of stately, pre-Civil War, homes.

On Donna's recommendation, we made sure to stop at the Museum and spent an hour or so checking out the history of this community, it's early business, and its ties to the water. Most interesting to me were the old skiffs used in and around the outer banks and the surrounding marshes. Although the sizes were different, they were all gaff rigged with flat bottoms and a centerboard. There were also a couple of examples of plank row boats that were remarkably similar to the design that grandfather built before aluminum boats were invented.

After returning to the boat, we polished off the last of the jambalaya and spent the afternoon working on various projects and taking advantage of great internet service...for once. I also put out a second anchor, just trying to take as many precautions against the forecast 25 to 35 mph winds.

We had dinner on Cielo with Kevin and Lizz, who we probably won't see for a while. They are leaving from here to run about 800 miles to the Turks, skipping the Bahamas altogether. Kevin made a chicken/pasta dish and we brought a salad. As always, we had an enjoyable evening with them and wish them the best.

The wind began to blow about 2am. I got up and set the anchor alarm....(In truth, I had to wake Kathy up to have her set the stupid thing) and spent the rest of the night listening to the wind.