Belhaven to Beaufort, NC
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2001
1
28
45
Trip End
Apr 22, 2002
Beaufort,
North Carolina,
United States
Thursday, November 1, 2001
The boats we left behind arrived and we left in light winds and a beautiful sunny day. Things went so well that we passed two places where we were going to stop and continued on till late in the day to anchor in a quiet cove in Cedar Creek (mile 187.7) just off the ICW passage through the Adams Creek Canal. Before dinner, "Nicou" invited us over for butternut squash soup. Margaret brought an apple pie she baked during our afternoon's sail. It was good getting together again.
Oct. 31
Short distance today down the Adams Creek Canal to Beaufort, North Carolina. As we traveled down the river we passed a commercial fish processing area with their boats docks outside. We certainly have seen a variety of commercial boats as each is configured so differently for oysters, crabs, Menhaden or shrimp.
As we entered the main bay at the end of the canal, the VHF radio came alive with news of dolphins ahead. We saw our first beautiful, sleek dolphins off our bow but they were gone too quickly to take a picture. Later we would see three more playing the wakes of the boats and then two more jumping high in the air. What a sight!!!
We are presently anchored opposite Beaufort's town docks. We are sharing this anchorage with the other three boats in our little group and 67 other boats. Some boats are tied to mooring balls and are probably local boats but the vast majority are like us, traveling south. We are all anchored in what is called a Bahamian moor. You put one anchor down and then motor backwards letting out twice the line you want to end up with. Then you put your second anchor down. Then you pull up on the first one so that you end up with two anchors lead from your bow at 180 degrees. This way when the tide turns in the channel your boat just swivels around to other anchor but stays in the same position. This way, a lot of boats can be anchored in quite a small area and not disturb each other.
In the evening, we were invited over to Acclaim, with John and Alida whom we also met in Dismal Swamp, and along with Nicou, helped with towing when their engine wouldn't go. Yes Bruce and Jan, when you read this it did bring back fond memories of the towing in the North Channel.
November 1
I went to the North Carolina Maritime Museum in the morning. What a surprise to be greeted by the staff with an offer to use a visitors car to pick up supplies or tour their town. There was an opening from 3p.m. to 4:30 and I immediately said I'd love to take advantage of their kind offer. They have an excellent museum and I particularly enjoyed one of the volunteer guides who gave me an excellent talk on the fishing industry. It was particularly meaningful because of her family's long involvement in it, so her descriptions were quite personal instead of canned tourist information.
When 3 p.m. came, Ed and Marlene from Valhalla joined us along with Judy from Nicou so the car benefited 3 boats. Although there is no charge, everyone makes a donation to the museum to keep up this excellent practice.
In the local weekly Beaufort newspaper, a full page was devoted to the November Elementary and Middle School Calendar and Lunch Menu. These were some of the points I found interesting.
Breakfast cost $0.75 and included for example: scrambled egg with buttered toast and grits
Lunch was $1.25 for elementary students and $1.40 for middle school with menus like:
1. Taco salad, shredded lettuce and diced tomato, pineapple chunks, Mexican beans and fresh fruit
2. Cheese pizza, mixed fruit, buttered corn and fresh fruit
3. Hot dog with chili, seasoned potato wedges, cold slaw, fresh fruit and cherry applesauce
4. Cheese stix with dipping sauce, green peas, pineapple chunks, fried okra and fresh fruit
5. Choice of one: Barbecue sandwich or fish sandwich with choice of two: Tator tots, Succotash, Cole Slaw, Peach Slices
I thought that publishing this for parents was a great idea for helping plan dinners at home and it looked like the students were offered a good variety of food at a low cost.
