All Aboard WishBone

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

We pushed off the dock against a 24 knot wind and motored out the channel.  We were leaving, wind or not, we hoped.  Yes, the bridge did open for us.  The winds picked up. We were tossed around for the first hour or so and then things calmed down.  WishBone handled it just fine.  We had a good day traveling the waterway with a couple other sailboats.  We made good time with all that North wind pushing us in the butt and were in Belhaven, NC by 3 pm.  We were in Belhaven once before and recognized the nice little town and the great hardware store – a cruiser’s favorite place.  April chased the squirrels around, we had dinner aboard, a game of cribbage and crashed for the night.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Again up at the crack of dawn, April is good at that, and off and running to Oriental.  We are in WishBone’s previous home.  There were some rain showers in the morning but it wasn’t as cold – 55 degrees – and we had a good run with two other sailboats were have met along the way.  We walked to a small grocery store and picked up essentials – I was careful to keep it to essentials because we were carrying it back to the boat.  Then we walked to a small family run restaurant Bill had discovered when he purchased WishBone.  We had delicious shrimp and tuna and homemade coconut cream pie!  April was welcomed with great enthusiasm.  The fog rolling in tonight.  I hope that it has lifted in the morning.

Friday, November 22, 2013

We backed out of the slip – Bill is really getting good at that (yes, I need to learn too), and started out the channel – oopps, that’s bottom!  Not wide enough around that green buoy.  Bill did some maneuvering and we were off and running again.  We had dressed in our traditional long underwear, fleece, down, bibs and jackets for the trip.  By 7 a.m. we were starting to remove layers.  The day turned out to be beautiful, 66 degrees and sunny.  We had a great run and are now in Swansboro, NC.  April got to play with her favorite blue ball, running and leaping through the air.  Then she and I did some obedience training/play – her favorite kind, with treats. We walked all over the village area.  They have all the lights and decorations up for the holidays.  They have a boat parade the day after Thanksgiving.  It is amazing what a nice warm sunny day does for the attitude.  Next up, Wrightsville Beach, NC.