Why are we headed to Chocowinity, NC? Have you ever heard of it? Nope? Me neither! However, our long-ago sailing friends we met at East Coast Sailing Association (ECSA) have moved there and we received a kind invitation to stop by on our way north. Yippee!!!
Before arriving at Chocowinity, we stayed at Beaufort, NC for 4 days (an extra day due to a storm rolling through). Beaufort was another beautiful eastern seaside town. We enjoyed shopping, eating (and drinking yummy Painkillers) along the historic waterfront district, including a dinner with 3 other looper couples. One day, we hopped aboard a National Park Service ferry with our new looper friends, Roger and Chris. The ferry took us to Shackleford, an outer bank, where we were able to get fairly close to wild horses. About 100 horses populate the island. The horses are descendants from the Spanish Mustangs carried on ships which ran aground, and the crew, needing to remove ballast, let the horses off to swim to shore.
Speaking about the historic district, we have heard a lot about the pirate, Blackbeard, as we are traveling along the east coast. Visiting the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort provided much needed education. Apparently, Edward Teach, aka “Blackbeard” thought the North Carolina coastline provided access to ships carrying valuable cargo. With reduced European navies, corrupt and ineffective European government in the overseas colonies, the pirates were quite successful with their looting up and down the eastern seaboard (and into the West Indies). Blackbeard’s home base was in Bath, NC, just north of Beaufort.
In 1718, Blackbeard ran his flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge (a captured French slave ship) and his sloop Adventure, aground near the Beaufort Inlet. Blackbeard transferred the crew and supplies to other ships. In 1996, the remains of Queen Anne’s Revenge were found and many of the items discovered are on display in the Maritime Museum.
We then set off to Oriental, NC. We stopped overnight at the Oriental Marina & Inn which only had 12 slips but in a great location to check out the town. The town wasn’t much but the marina had a Tiki Bar which on Friday Night, is the place to be in Oriental. There was a large grassy area between the Tiki Bar and on-site restaurant where Murphy got to romp around with 4 or 5 of his furry friends. The next morning, he also had several playdates with other dogs passing through the marina & inn grounds. Dave and I were afraid he wouldn’t want to get on the boat to leave the next morning. Murphy did manage to jump from the back deck up to the fixed dock when there were a couple of dogs playing without him. Usually, he feigns it’s too hard to jump up and Dave lifts him. Now we know better!
Next, we had an overnight stop at Vandemere, NC anchorage on our way to Chocowinity. It was there we learned about “Fuzzy Bills”. We had a wonderful peaceful night at anchorage. No wind (i.e., no wave motion slapping the side of the hull), no current, no tidal changes…it was a great night. And then we woke up and stepped outside to take Murphy in the dinghy for a potty stop. What has covered our boat??? Some type of insect, luckily which doesn’t bite, but it leaves a blueish green discharge. Is it its poo? YUCK! After wiping down the dinghy and taking Murphy for his potty break, we washed down the boat with river water from our anchor washdown hose. Luckily, the blueish-green tint all over washed away, as well as hundreds of the pesky insects, but many (way too many) stayed hanging around. In researching the insect, it’s called a non-biting aquatic midge. Midges are prevalent in the outer banks due to so much water. They are crucial to the outer banks’ ecosystem. Sorry I washed so many of you away but you just needed to go!!!
The final stop of this leg was to see our long-ago friends, Rick & Patty Greyson. Rick & Patty moved to Chocowinity, NC after retirement and have a beautiful home in a community with its own marina. Rick is in heaven, having their sailboat just a mile or so from their house. They graciously arranged for Slo Pace to tie up on one of the T docks in the marina for 2 nights. We were treated to wonderful homemade meals and scrumptious dark chocolate brownies. Oh, and Rick can make a mean Pina Colada! Murphy felt right at home as Rick and Patty are proud parents of two rescue dogs (and they are especially proud of their four grandchildren). It so great when you can see friends you haven’t seen in years (maybe 15ish?) and are able to catch right up. We greatly appreciated their hospitality.
We are off to Belhaven, NC for 3 nights. The temps are dropping to the high 30’s overnight later this week, so we want to be attached to power to run our heater! We are also meeting up with our new friends, Roger & Chris aboard Betty Gail, to chat about our next week’s destinations.
Stay tuned for the next Slo Pace update in about a week or so.
Love living the Looper life,
Dave, Brenda, & Murphy
Wow the desert was presented in such a way that it woke up my sweet tooth. I hope, Brenda, you are saving all your correspondence to write a book on your experiences, you could begin when you were young and some of your experiences on the delta and right up to and including the entire loop.
Things are obviously going well, batteries are up, no problems. God is with you every step of the way. I think Jerry is probably on the bridge enjoying the trip as well.
Love your pictures and your posts.
Enjoy
Ron Keffer
The pleasure was all ours! Great to see you again and catch up!
And, of course, a pleasure to meet and play with Murphy!
We’ll be looking for you on the Chesapeake!
What an amazing adventure!! Wish we lived on the loop so you could stop by😉