Tuesday, November 5, 2017
46 miles 6.9 Engine Hours
Underway 7:36AM Docked 1:30PM

Changes in Latitudes - We are almost into the 34º latitudes. Currently we are 35º 01.48’ north of the equator. If we had traveled 1.48 NAUTICAL MILES further south we would have dropped into the 34ºs. We started out at 37º 22’ ( 141NM to the north ). We will be traveling as far south as 25º 54’ in North Miami ( 688NM south of where we started) for Christmas and then over to the Bahamas to 26º 32’ latitude ( 650NM south of where we started). Remember - 1 minute change in latitude = 1 NM and there are 60 minutes ( NM ) of latitude in each degree of latitude. Enough of the latitude lesson for today.

We are staying in Oriental two days. So, the changes in latitude will have to wait. Now,,, where is that Jimmy Buffett song on my ipod?

Nice ride across the Pamlico Sound and down the Neuse River yesterday. It was a little foggy in spots. The shrimpers were out shrimping all over the lower Pamlico and we met one ferry heading back to Ocracoke. Ran my navigation lights and entered that into the log book for legal reasons.

We docked at Oriental Marina, getting the last available slip. I didn’t think the marinas would be as busy as they are as we are a couple weeks behind the big migration south of boaters. We walked to the coffee shop and to a marine supply place that also sold local produce. We got an odd shaped cabbage to have with our dinner aboard. We have bought sheepshead and shrimp in Ocracoke before leaving at the seafood co-op.
Dinner aboard was superb! We are going back to that store today togged more of those cabbages.

We are always striking up conversations with strangers. Yesterday, while walking out of the coffee shop a guy started telling his story about moving here. He was from New Jersey. And, kind of like the murderer in Manteo I started wondering about this guy. Sort of reminded me of a character off The Sopranos. ( maybe this guy https://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/cast-and-crew/corrado-junior-soprano ) he offered us a ride to the grocery store nearby. Later, we found the grocery was closed. So, where was this guy REALLY going to take us? Anyhow, I didn’t want to tick him off but was having a difficult time excusing us. He finally let us go.

After getting back to the boat before we could get on board, a guy on the dock struck up a conversation about our boat and the pretty sailboat next to us. We heard about how Oriental is a place many like to retire to. He said he had been part of the swamp that was drained in DC 12 years ago and moved to Oriental after sailing around a bit. That’s they way we often feel when we dock in a friendly town. “Hey, we could really move here” This guy also said in Oriental it doesn’t matter if you have a PHD or a GED you are all the same here. The funniest thing he told us is a friend of his had switched from a lifetime of sailing and had bought a trawler. The man told his friend he guessed he’d become a trans-vessel-lite. Susan and I couldn’t stop laughing.
Today’s picture is looking down the Oriental channel.