Day 9: Isn't it supposed to be warm in NC?
29 October 2011 | Caspers Marina, Swansboro, NC
30 knot winds at our stern and COLD!

Nautical Miles Travelled: 38
Total Trip Miles: 573
We woke in Oriental, NC to a brisk morning requiring yet another day of snowpants, yes, I said it snowpants! Thank goodness we hit up Walmart with Aunt Lu in NY, without the snowpants we'd be freezing on this trip! Regardless of the snowpants, we were up early and filled Soul with some filtered water and cleaned all the salt off of her ready for another day of sailing/motoring through the ICW. We talked briefly with a fellow sailor from Colorado who had sold his home, moved onto his boat (the Passport) and was now residing in Oriental, NC to get some experience with hopes of an ocean crossing someday soon.
While preping the boat for her next day on the water I turned into a kid again when I spotted a school of dolphins in the harbor! I was so excited that I yelled to Derek and some other boaters stopped on the pier to watch the dolphins swim back and forth around what must have been a fantastic breakfast (or school of fish) rushing through the harbor entrance.
So after a brief pause to take in the playful dophins, we pushed back on the dock to avoid the shallows (dropped 3 feet overnight) and swung around to head for the inlet. We were escorted out by the dolphins swiming around our bow (again, feeling like kids with happiness). And so off we were in the Neuse River headed back to the ICW.
So the rest of the day was a little less exciting. Besides the fact that it was a slow day on the ICW - we faced westerly winds and an opposing current ...the cool breeze and lack of sun really made for a chilling afternoon. Derek braved most of it at the helm, how he remained warm I'm still not sure, but I think living aboard has really toughened him up.
We didn't make much ground today, only 38 miles, but with gale force winds on the outside and 30 knots on the inside, we were still happy with whatver progress we were able to accomplish. We settled into Caspers Marnia in Swansboro, NC. The marnia was friendly, Derek got to meet Casper this morning, and we were only one block from town. We bundled up and walked to the Ice House for dinner and dined with what seemed like the whole town, kids included. The walk over brought us through a quaint neighborhood with the locals hanging out around campfires and enjoying the cool evening. We even stopped to pet a few local cats on the walk over. Dinner was good, but Derek's pasta dish had a little (actually way) too much gorganzola, so that's pretty much what we talked/laughed about on the walk home. It's a simple life aboard Soul Purpose, thes smallest of things are extremely entertaining!