Today we move to Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven. This leg includes the Neuse River, Pamlico Sound, and Pungo River – all of which can be evil! But for us, nothing but good Karma!!
Our morning exit from the Beaufort area was wonderfully calm and quiet. We picked our way through a shallow shortcut while enjoying our first cup of Joe at the upper helm station. These are the moments! Of course, before this happens, hours were spent preparing the boat, evaluating the weather and deciding where to go, and building a route.
The weather for the whole day was superb with a side of magical!
I decided it was time to confront the mystery of our intermittent steering failures. Since our first day on the loop we’ve had to add steering fluid – usually while underway – or we’d lose the ability to control our direction from the upper helm station. Yup…you read that right. It took a while and a couple of days, but we found the leak and fixed it. I’m making it sound easy, but two rudders and two helm stations makes for a lot of hydraulic lines and fittings! And the fishy fitting was in the worst possible place!
Our home for the night was Dowry Creek Marina. Mixed feelings. The dock hand was excellent. But there was no town. It was a good location for the next leg, but we wouldn’t choose it again.
Just before we headed for dinner and laundry (they’re side by side), Teri noticed an oddly dressed man ambling along the dock. His jacket sparkled, looked to be satin and had a bright red felt lapel. Teri mused that he must have a date! Turns out he was the restaurant entertainment! Despite his personal branding, “Sass-n-Brass”, he was the essence of mellow, arranged to appear human. Think of a 60 year career on a low budget cruise ship.
Tomorrow we head across another stretch of infamous water, the Albemarle Sound. Fingers crossed for good weather and no steering wonkiness.
