So we launched from Oriental and headed across the Meuse River. Nice sunny day with a bit of mist on the water and a few patchy bits of fog. First thing was to complete the sea trial of the new autopilot, and everything worked like a charm. Love it when a plan comes together. Was a very quick run down to Morehead City and then SW to Snead’s Ferry where we tied up for the night and had Carol pick us up for an evening of wine and pizza with another cruiser couple Jeff and Izzy (nice folks for power boaters lol). That night was wet, rainy and miserable, which continued into the morning so we decided to hang out for another day. Wendy visited with Carol for the day while Burry did boat projects (Paul was still in Oriental trying to get Odysseus launched).
Next day skies were blue and winds calmer so we pushed on to Carolina Beach. The three bridges between Snead’s Ferry and Carolina beach are a pain. They are restricted openings with two only opening on the hour so making the middle bridge on the ½ hour is important. Well we pushed hard and got there just before the Figure Eight bridge opened, unfortunately strong cross breeze, a pushing current and an uncharted shoal ended up with us hard aground as the bridge opened….and then closed. We were stuck good in black ooze, to the point we called Boat US. Fortunately a small rise in the tide couple with some crafty throttle work got us unstuck and then through the bridge. We then had a very slow run to the Wrightsville Beach Bridge. Even with this we had a good run and anchored again in Carolina Beach. Next few days are a blur, where we averaged 50-60 mile days with early starts and late afternoon stops. Barefoot Landing was a great coup as we arrived just as they were having their annual oyster roast with cheap beer and a great band (Carolina Breakers) playing. Made for a wonderful evening. Had some excitement in Beaufort (pronounced Beeuford) SC where coming through the bridge our shaft decoupled from the transmission leaving us with no power to the prop! Fortunately current was with us and we rode it to the anchorage where we dropped the hook and then started repairs. A quick dingy ride to the hardware store and a couple of hours of elbow grease we were back in service. Beaufort is a quaint town with some neat shops and eateries, think we will visit for the day next time this way. This run ended at Savanna, Ga at the Isle of Hope Marina, one of our favorite spots. We held up here for a couple of days to recharge ourselves for the push to Florida.
Stretch from Savanna to St Augustine went by quick. Again averaging 55+ miles with good weather helped. Anchored most of the time and were extremely fortunate with tides, hitting shallow areas during high tide and getting good pushes from tidal currents as well. Best run was the 66 miles we did from Cumberland Island to St Augustine in just over 9 hours. So we are now in St Augustine, another one of our favorite spots. Along this stretch we linked up again with Dutchess and Merlin, so an added treat reconnecting with old friends. Wendy also saw an Alligator, Burry saw a Manatee and we both saw lots of dolphins and some wild horses on Cumberland.
After three days here in St Augustine, with restocking of wine and chocolate complete, we are set to head out again, next stop Vero Beach.