On November 5th we got up around 7:00 AM and decided to pull anchor and get started to Oriental and eat breakfast on the way. When Ron went to start the engine, it cranked very slowly. He switched the batteries from one to all and it still wouldn't start. We hooked up the generator and let it charge for 1/2 hour. After 1/2 hour it still wouldn't start. We bled the fuel system and eventually got the engine started. We motored to Oriental and the engine ran great. We anchored in the bay just past the green and red markers. We were all settled in and I decided to take a shower before lunch and before we went exploring the town. Well, Ron decided to start the engine. It turned over very slowly, but eventually started. Ron decided to have a mechanic look into the problem. We looked in the guide books and at Active Captain and called Deaton Yacht service. They said they would send a mechanic over but we needed to go into a marina(they felt our draft was too deep to come into their marina). So we went into Oriental Marina and Inn on the face dock of Oriental Harbor Village Center and Marina. The technician came on board and had Ron start the engine. After some slow cranking the engine started. He did some diagnostics on the engine and alternator and felt the engine was running fine and the alternator output was also fine. The technician told us he believed it was probably an electrical issue and scheduled someone to come back on Monday and run some test. It was now late in the day so we decided to eat dinner at the TiKi Bar. Neither of us was in the mood to cook. It was a good decision. The cost was reasonable and the food was good.

The next morning (Friday, Nov. 6) we went on a 4 mi. run along the Neuse River. It was a really nice run. I made Ron go with me, we both needed to run off some stress. When we finished our run we saw two boats from Canada tied up at the free town dock. They told us that the dock they were tied to was for shallow draft boats and showed us where the free dock for deeper draft boats was located.

We decided it was time to clean the inside of the boat. Ron ran the vacuum and I had to really clean and wash down everything in the V-Birth. The walls, blankets and pillows smelled musty. After cleaning we met a very nice couple, David and Jane on an Ericson 38 from Maine. The name of their boat is “So Far So Good”. We had drinks with them that evening and lots of laughs which we both needed. Ron had to drag me out of the boat for drinks, but it was a good idea. It helped cheer me up.

The next day, Saturday, we went into town to the farmers market. It was a disappointment, there were no veggies. We bought sausage and bread. At one of the vendor stands we were pleasantly surprised to see one of our new friends Karen from s/v Persephone. She was selling some beautiful sea glass jewelry and watercolor cards. Then we checked the deeper draft public dock. We spoke to the owner of S/V Nubian (Larry). He is circumnavigating alone on his 47 Beneteau. We first saw him when we were in Annapolis.

That night Jane and Dave came over for dinner. I made chicken with heavy cream and lemon sauce with rice and brussels and raisins. It came out perfectly and was a hit. It rained most of the night.

On Sunday it was a cool 58 degrees and cloudy. A cold front came in during the night with the rain. During the day the marina manager loaned us his car so we could go to the Super Walmart for groceries. That evening we had a great dinner on "So Far So Good". We had BBQ pork ribs, mashed potatoes, corn bread, coleslaw and pecan pie. It was so good. We had a lot of fun.

On Monday,it rained all day. The mechanic from Deaton Marina came to look at the engine. He checked the electrical systems first and did a load test on the batteries, all were working well. He took out the starter and was going to put in our rebuilt starter. Prior to doing that Ron asked him to look at the ring gear on the flywheel because of the grinding noise. He saw a problem there and does not want to put in another starter until they figure out why there are metal shavings in the fly wheel housing. This is the same problem we had last summer.

Well today we had a new experience. Deaton Yacht Service towed us from our slip in Oriental to their yard up Whittaker Creek. As the saying goes, " Cruising is nothing more than getting your boat repaired in exotic ports." Hopefully our time here will not be too long.