Position: N 34 02.974 W 077 53.330
Location: Brickyard Creek, north of Beaufort, SC
A lot has happened since we last wrote and we've made good, albeit slow, progress further south.
After running aground (see last Khronicle) we stopped for a couple of days at Great Bridge, VA to visit w/ friends, buy some groceries, and top up the fuel tank.
Then we continued south through the Currituck Sound, across the Albemarle Sound, up the Neuse River, and on to Beaufort (Bow-furt), North Carolina. On the way we tested our new whisker pole and absolutely love it. We now finally have some down wind mojo!!
Tiger Lily, our 8 year old granddaughter whom we did not get to see during our visit to VA this summer, joined us at Belhaven, NC for a week aboard. We had a wonderful time with her, despite some not so perfect weather and unfavorable seas. She was a great crew member and we enjoyed cooking together, wildlife watching from the bow, teaching her navigation, helmsmanship, knot tying, VHF radio etiquette, and generally 'connecting'. What a special time together. She traveled over 100 miles with us and was a great sport.
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| Tigerlily learning to play the conch horn at sunset |
A couple of days in Beaufort waiting for favorable weather (that never appeared) were followed by a few more days “on the inside” to Little River, South Carolina. We picked up a friend who used to cruise and she accompanied us from Little River to Charleston, SC “on the outside”. Another great sail, also making good use of our new whisker pole. This has proven to be a great addition to our cruising equipment. Julie & Yvonne had a “slumber party”, yakking away their watch in the cockpit, great fun!!
Then after a couple of weeks on the dock visiting friends and doing various boat jobs including a couple of carpentry projects (thanks to the availability of a friend's table saw – thanks, Jim!!) we were ready to continue south. Once again we didn't see any favorable weather in the near future, so we set off “on the inside” and made our way down to Beaufort (Byew-furt), SC where we currently sit.
A big front with 30+ knot winds is scheduled to blow through here tonight followed by what sounds like a good opportunity to get down to Cumberland Island, one of our favorite places on the East Coast. Except for one thing – it's supposed to get down to 35 F (that's just under 2 C) tomorrow night. Brrr. We don't have the luxury of a full enclosure on our cockpit,. That means it's wooly jumpers, knit caps, mittens, foul weather gear, and blankets while we're on watch.
So we're sitting here trying to decide whether we want to brave near-freezing temperatures outside on the ocean overnight or continue on down the inside where we can anchor and snuggle up at night.
Trying to stay warm,
