June 21, 2019
I woke up still feeling exhausted, maybe even more than yesterday. I forced myself to go for a run, and I’m glad I did, but damn did it knock me out something terrible. We finished re-bedding a deck cleat, refilled our water tanks, grabbed a couple of jerry cans of diesel fuel, and left the dock in Morehead City.
I was reluctant to leave since I felt so awful, but Eric drove us through 20+ knot winds. Instead of going all the way to Oriental, we decided to anchor in a very sheltered creek just before the Neuse River, which looked especially choppy with the wind conditions. I noticed a couple of stinging jellyfish floating near the surface of the water as we approached the creek entrance.
A fishing vessel was already anchored here, cleaning their catch and flinging by-product to the gulls. I didn’t have the energy to ask they what they caught. I pretty much slept all afternoon.
It’s a beautiful little anchorage, so calm and tranquil, and although we’re basically in a bunch of folks’ backyards, it feels pretty isolated. Although a late start, and only traveling for a couple of hours, we enjoyed the scenery, and it feels pretty good.
June 22, 2019
We saw a large fire burning in the distance, which we believed it to be from military target practice area within the intercoastal waters.
Sailing to Oriental, we made it by early afternoon and snagged a free dock for the night.
We walked to dinner and enjoyed the quaint little town.
June 23, 2019
This morning I hunkered down at a coffee shop and got some work done, partaking of a brownie while trying to be productive. Walking around Oriental, I enjoyed the summer flowers while I stretched my legs.
Too soon it feels like, we’re off again.
June 25, 2019
I felt really sick and slept all of yesterday. Now we’re on the move again.
Instead of continuing up the ICW, we decided to sail the outer banks of North Carolina. We slipped into Lake Sylvia – a small body of water surrounded by the town of Ocracoke. Such a quaint little island.
June 26, 2019
Eric and I enjoyed walking around the natural areas of Orcacoke – we saw beach, pine forest, and marshy wetland all in one afternoon.
June 27, 2019
I’ve really enjoyed our time in Ocracoke, and so today we explored yet another natural area.
We saw a tiny praying mantis and visited the town’s light house.
June 28, 2019
June 29, 2020
Today we sailed to Manteo, Eric grating my nerves by insisting we sail through narrow channels along the ICW. But we made it, and the small town of Manteo seems like it’ll be another enjoyable stop along the Outer Banks.
June 30, 2019
We met up again with our friends Kyle and Ana! We met Kyle in the Fort Pierce boatyard, and sailed in the Bahamas with them while they cruised on SV Ripple. Eric and I had a blast while these two showed us their local stomping grounds.
July 1, 2019
From Manteo we hitched a ride with Kyle and Ana to the Aquarium, which I thoroughly enjoyed learning about sea life and local history.
“For most of the wild things on earth the future must depend upon the conscience of mankind” – Dr. Archie Carr, Conservation Biologist
I especially loved the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation program (STAR). This aquarium does a lot of conservation work, which I adore.
July 2, 2019
Hitching a ride with Kyle and Ana, we spent a day at Rodanthe beach.
Eric enjoyed sailing the Hobe cat with Kyle, surfing the waves near the beach. I went on one ride and that was enough fun on a Hobe for me – that sailboat sung as it raced over the water. I was scared stiff with the speed. So I enjoyed the beach while Eric spent the afternoon sailing.
July 3, 2019
Storm clouds followed us like a shadow as we sailed north. Fluky winds made for challenging sailing conditions, yet Eric refused to bring in the sails, and we almost made it onto the hook scot free.
However we were blasted with a storm wall just as we were coming around the bend to our anchorage for the evening. I fought to keep the boat pointing into the 30 knot winds while Eric struggled to bring down the mail sail as it flapped violently. At least the storm left us a nice sunset.
July 4, 2019
This morning we woke up to buzzing, and when I stepped out into the cockpit I saw bugs everywhere! It was very perplexing, but thankfully the midges didn’t bite, and we waited a couple of hours for them to dissipate before sailing north.
We made it to Great Bridge, Virginia for a quiet Forth of July.
July 5, 2019
We are now in familiar stomping grounds.
We made it to Norfolk, Virginia! Back to where we started last November. It was crazy to see from a seasoned perspective just what a steep learning curve we faced that first day in November as we dealt with a very busy shipping channel, the Navy base, opening bridges, and a lock all in one day.
The nostalgia ran deep today.
Ripples and Leaves 